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| Torrent salamanders | |
|---|---|
 | |
| Rhyacotriton variegatus | |
Scientific classification | |
| Domain: | Eukaryota |
| Kingdom: | Animalia |
| Phylum: | Chordata |
| Class: | Amphibia |
| Order: | Urodela |
| Suborder: | Salamandroidea |
| Family: | Rhyacotritonidae Tihen, 1958 |
| Genus: | Rhyacotriton Dunn, 1920 |
| Species | |
Rhyacotriton cascadae (blue) | |
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Thetorrent salamanders orCascade salamanders are afamily of salamanders (Rhyacotritonidae) with onlyone genus,Rhyacotriton. The torrent salamanders have highly reduced lungs and areendemic to the United States in thePacific Northwest (including northwestern California).[1][2]
Maximum adult snout-vent length is 6 cm. They have complete metamorphosis, but a few neotenic traits have been found, like the presence of conical teeth and reduced or absent nasal bones. Nasal bones have never been seen inR. olympicus. but are present in some specimens of the other species, and occurs most often inR. variegatus. The lungs are minute; inR. olympicus they are 5 to 7 mm in length, but highly vascular and filled with air. They are very sensitive to desiccation and warm temperatures. More than 83 °F (28 °C) can be fatal, and they can only tolerate a water loss of 19.4 percent of initial body weight at most (compared to 29.0 to 32.9 percent for other species). Because of this, they are rarely found more than a meter away from free-running water. On rare occasions adults can be found under objects a few meters from water after heavy rain.[3][4][5][6] Males have a unique vent gland.[7]
Courtship is terrestrial. The male will deposit a spermatophore on the ground, which is then picked up by the female.[8] The eggs have a pale yellow-white ova, and are deposited separately and haphazardly in slow-flowing water. Sometimes communal oviposition occurs.[9] They are attached neither to each other or to the substrate, which is unique in salamanders. Parental care is absent.[10]
The genusRhyacotriton includes four species:
Originally the genusRhyacotriton was placed in the familyAmbystomatidae, later in the familyDicamptodontidae, and finally in 1992 it was placed into a family of its own. At the same time the only speciesRhyacotriton olympicus was split into four species due to genetic analysis.
Caudate families by suborder | ||
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| Cryptobranchoidea | .jpg) .jpg) .jpg) | |
| Salamandroidea | ||
| Sirenoidea | ||
Authority control databases: National |
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