B.C. Reptiles & Amphibians

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Credit: John Clare

Wandering Salamander

Aneides vagrans

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Description

The Wandering Salamander is relatively small and slender, reaching a maximum total length of 13 cm. They have small limbs, a tail that is circular in cross-section, and 14-16
costal grooves. The inner toe on each foot is comparatively short, and all toes have squared ends. Wandering Salamanders are generally dark brown to dark grey with light grey, bronze, or gold mottling. The belly is grey with light-coloured flecking. Juveniles can be identified by their bronze dorsal stripe that fades with age.

Listen to the Indigenous words for “salamander” here!

Similar Species

The Wandering Salamander could be mistaken for the Northwestern Salamander, Ensatina, or Western Red-backed Salamander. The Northwestern Salamander is larger and stouter, has distinct parotid glands on the head, and lacks nasolabial grooves or patterning. The Ensatina lacks patterning except for some light flecking on the sides, and has a distinctive constriction at the base of the tail. Western Red-backed Salamanders have much smaller legs relative to their bodies.

Wandering Salamander

Northwestern Salamander

Ensatina

Western Red-backed Salamnder

Distribution

The Wandering Salamander has a puzzling distribution. It is native to coastal northern California, and has established populations on Vancouver Island and some adjacent smaller islands, but is not found anywhere in between. Wandering Salamanders may have been anthropogenically (by humans) introduced to Vancouver Island, as genetic evidence has shown that Vancouver Island populations are nearly identical to California populations.
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Habitat

Wandering Salamanders are associated with coastal mature and old-growth coniferous forests. They are typically found in forests with stands of Douglas-fir and Western Hemlock at low elevations. They require very moist environments and prefer areas with large amounts of woody debris and leaf litter. Wandering Salamanders are fully terrestrial, and deposit eggs in moist microsites in terrestrial habitats. They are very adept climbers and are often found living in trees. Wandering Salamanders will hibernate overwinter below the frost line in talus slopes, mammal burrows, root hollows, and rock crevices.

Reproduction

Wandering Salamanders breed in the early spring, and females will lay eggs in late spring or early summer. The females will attach 3-28 eggs (average 6-9) individually to the roof of a nest chamber in such places as a rocky crevice, wood hollow, or moss mat in an old-growth tree. Females will protect the eggs until hatching occurs about 3 months later in August or September. In some cases, both the male and female have been observed guarding eggs. Wandering Salamanders have no larval stage, and the gills are absorbed around the time of hatching. Juvenile females reach sexual maturity after 3 years and only reproduce every other year, while males mature in their second year and will attempt to breed every year. The lifespan of Wandering Salamanders is up to 20 years.

Diet

Wandering Salamanders are generalist feeders, but their favourite foods in British Columbia are ants, coleopterans, and gastropods. Juveniles eat the same prey items as adults, but select for smaller sizes.

Conservation Status

Global: G4 (2005)

COSEWIC: SC

SARA:1-SC (2018)

Provincial: S3 (2016)

BC List: Blue

Learn more about conservation status rankings here

Threats

The primary threat to Wandering Salamanders in Canada is habitat loss and degradation, as their preferred habitat of coastal mature forests are highly sought after by the logging industry. Climate change may also pose a significant future threat to the Wandering Salamander as drought events become prolonged and more frequent.
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Did You Know?

The Wandering Salamander is a member of the family Plethodontidae, or the lungless salamanders. As they do not have lungs, they absorb oxygen through their skin and so must remain moist at all times to allow for diffusion of gases through the skin.

Research has shown that Wandering Salamanders may spend more time in their lives in trees than on the ground. Some individuals may spend their entire lives high up in canopies in fern mats. The large, thick fern mats hold a lot of water, allowing Wandering Salamanders to stay moist year-round.

Species Account Author: Marcus Atkins

References

B.C. Conservation Data Centre. 2003. Species Summary: Aneides vagrans. B.C. Minist. of Environment. Available: https://a100.gov.bc.ca/pub/eswp/ (accessed Jun 9, 2021). 
B.C. Conservation Data Centre. 2016. Conservation Status Report: Aneides vagrans. B.C. Minist. of Environment. Available: https://a100.gov.bc.ca/pub/eswp/ (accessed Jun 9, 2021). 
B.C. Conservation Data Centre. 2021. BC Species and Ecosystems Explorer. B.C. Minist. of Environ. Victoria, B.C. Available: https://a100.gov.bc.ca/pub/eswp/ (accessed Jun 9, 2021). 
COSEWIC. 2014l. COSEWIC assessment and status report on the Wandering Salamander Aneides vagrans in Canada. Committee on the Status of Endangered Wildlife in Canada. Ottawa. xi + 44 pp. 
Spickler, James C.; Sillett, Stephen C.; Marks, Sharyn B.; Welsh Jr., Hartwell H. 2006. Evidence of a new niche for a North American salamander: Aneides vagrans residing in the canopy of old-growth redwood forest. Herpetological Conservation and Biology, Vol. 1(1): 16-27. 
http://www.canadianherpetology.ca/species/species_page.html?cname=Wandering%20Salamander 
http://linnet.geog.ubc.ca/efauna/Atlas/Atlas.aspx?sciname=Aneides%20vagrans