B.C. Reptiles & Amphibians

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Credit: Laura Matthias

Coeur d’Alene Salamander

Plethodon idahoensis

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Description

The Coeur d’Alene Salamander is a member of family Plethodontidae, which are small, slender, terrestrial salamanders that do not have an aquatic life stage. Coeur d’Alene Salamanders have a long and slim body reaching 10-13cm, typically with 14
costal grooves. They are dark brown or black with a wavy-edged dorsal stripe that may be yellow, orange, or red and breaks apart on the head. They have a distinctive yellow throat patch while the rest of the belly is dark. The sides and legs have some light flecking. They have large parotid glands on the head behind their bulging eyes that protrude above the head. They have relatively long legs and short, lightly webbed toes.

Listen to the Indigenous words for “salamander” here!

Similar Species

The Coeur d’Alene Salamander may be easily confused with the Western Red-backed Salamander and the Long-toed Salamander. The Western Red-backed Salamander has smaller legs than the Coeur d’Alene, and has a straight-edged red stripe that runs from the snout to the end of the tail. The Long-toed Salamander has particularly long toes on the hind feet, especially the second toe from the outside, compared to the very short, slightly webbed toes of the Coeur d’Alene.

Coeur d’Alene Salamander

Western Red-backed Salamander

Long-toed Salamander

Distribution

The Coeur d’Alene Salamander has a very restricted range in North America and is found in disjunct populations in northern Idaho and Montana, and southeastern B.C. In British Columbia, they are distributed very patchily in the southeastern mountainous regions of the Kootenays and Monashees.
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Habitat

Coeur d’Alene Salamanders have a small home range that they occupy year-round. They will hibernate in the winter and remain underground anytime the temperature falls below 4 °C. During very arid conditions in the summer, they will only emerge at night. The ecology of Coeur d’Alene Salamanders is not well understood, but they appear to be associated with bedrock streams, seeps, and wet talus slopes. Loose rocks and rocky crevices seem to be important microhabitat features for Coeur d’Alene Salamanders for cover and nesting sites. Hibernation occurs in deep crevices in bedrock or in talus slopes.

Reproduction

Breeding occurs in terrestrial habitats, just before and immediately after hibernation. Females will typically lay 1-3 eggs, though they may lay up to 12. They will lay their eggs in damp, terrestrial habitats like beneath rotting logs, although breeding sites have rarely been observed. Females are assumed to brood and guard the eggs until hatching in later summer. There is no larval stage for Coeur d’Alene Salamanders; the gills are absorbed before hatching and juveniles are miniature versions of terrestrial adults. Individuals become sexually mature after 4 years, with females only breeding every 2-3 years. The lifespan of Coeur d’Alene Salamanders appears to be at least 12 years.

Diet

Coeur d’Alene Salamanders are most active foraging above-ground during rainy nights where they primarily feed on aquatic and semi-aquatic insects.

Conservation Status

Global: G4 (2016)

COSEWIC: SC

SARA:1-SC (2003)

Provincial: S4 (2016)

BC List: Yellow

Learn more about conservation status rankings here

Threats

Due to their small population size and low reproductive rate, the Coeur d’Alene Salamander is threatened by human encroachment into its limited and fragile habitat. Populations are particularly sensitive to local disturbances such as logging, land development, and trampling, and it is rare to observe more than 20 individuals in one location. In Canada, the primary threat to Coeur d’Alene Salamanders is road construction, especially at stream crossings, where development can degrade their aquatic habitat.
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Did You Know?

Plethodontid salamanders like the Coeur d’Alene are also known as lungless salamanders, as the adults do not have gills or lungs but instead absorb oxygen through their skin. Thus, they need high humidity to remain moist at all times so oxygen and carbon dioxide can diffuse through the skin.

During the Miocene Era about 12 million years ago, the climate of North America was much wetter with fewer temperature extremes than today. The Coeur d’Alene Salamander had a much larger distribution back then, but, as the climate changed and North America grew drier and drier, only some areas remained wet and mild enough for Coeur d’Alene Salamanders to survive. These small pockets of Coeur d’Alene Salamanders are called “Relict Populations”.

Species Account Author: Marcus Atkins

References

B.C. Conservation Data Centre. 1996. Species Summary: Plethodon idahoensis. B.C. Minist. of Environment. Available: https://a100.gov.bc.ca/pub/eswp/ (accessed Jun 3, 2021). 
B.C. Conservation Data Centre. 2016. Conservation Status Report: Plethodon idahoensis. B.C. Minist. of Environment. Available: https://a100.gov.bc.ca/pub/eswp/ (accessed Jun 3, 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 3, 2021). 
COSEWIC. 2007c. COSEWIC assessment and update status report on Coeur d’Alene Salamander Plethodon idahoensis in Canada. Committee on the Status of Endangered Wildlife in Canada. Ottawa. vi + 22 pp. 
Environment and Climate Change Canada. 2017e. Management Plan for the Coeur d’Alene Salamander (Plethodon idahoensis) in Canada. Species at Risk Act Management Plan Series. Environment and Climate Change Canada, Ottawa. 2 pars, 4 pp. + 23 pp. 
http://a100.gov.bc.ca/pub/eirs/finishDownloadDocument.do?subdocumentId=693 
http://www.canadianherpetology.ca/species/species_page.html?cname=Coeur%20d%27Al%C3%A8ne%20Salamander 
https://linnet.geog.ubc.ca/efauna/Atlas/Atlas.aspx?sciname=Plethodon%20idahoensis&ilifeform=2