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{{Short description|Family of amphibians}} |
{{Short description|Family of amphibians}} |
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{{Automatic taxobox |
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|name = Torrent salamanders |
|name = Torrent salamanders |
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==Taxonomy== |
==Taxonomy== |
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Originally the genus ”Rhyacotriton” was placed in the family [[Ambystomatidae]], later in the family [[Dicamptodontidae]], and finally in 1992 it was placed into a family of its own. At the same time the only species ”Rhyacotriton olympicus” was split into four species due to genetic analysis. |
Originally the genus ”Rhyacotriton” was placed in the family [[Ambystomatidae]], later in the family [[Dicamptodontidae]], and finally in 1992 it was placed into a family of its own. At the same time the only species ”Rhyacotriton olympicus” was split into four species due to genetic analysis. |
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==Intrinsic Phylogeny== |
==Intrinsic Phylogeny== |
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Latest revision as of 02:45, 15 September 2025
Family of amphibians
The torrent salamanders or Cascade salamanders are a family of salamanders (Rhyacotritonidae) with only one genus, Rhyacotriton. The torrent salamanders have highly reduced lungs and are endemic to the United States in the Pacific Northwest (including northwestern California),[1][2] where they live in cool and shaded stream habitats in moist coniferous forests.[3]
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 in R. olympicus. but are present in some specimens of the other species, and occurs most often in R. variegatus. The lungs are minute; in R. 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.[4][5][6][7] Males have a unique vent gland.[8]
Courtship is terrestrial. The male will deposit a spermatophore on the ground, which is then picked up by the female.[9] The eggs have a pale yellow-white ova, and are deposited separately and haphazardly in slow-flowing water. Sometimes communal oviposition occurs.[10] They are attached neither to each other or to the substrate, which is unique in salamanders. Parental care is absent.[11]
The genus Rhyacotriton includes four species:
Originally the genus Rhyacotriton was placed in the family Ambystomatidae, later in the family Dicamptodontidae, and finally in 1992 it was placed into a family of its own. At the same time the only species Rhyacotriton olympicus was split into four species due to genetic analysis.[citation needed]
Intrinsic Phylogeny
[edit]
Intrinsic Phylogeny of genus Rhyacotriton. [12]
- ^ Tree of Life: Rhyacotritonidae
- ^ Rose, C. S.; James, B. (2013). “Plasticity of lung development in the amphibian, Xenopus laevis”. Biology Open. 2 (12): 1324–1335. doi:10.1242/bio.20133772. PMC 3863417. PMID 24337117.
- ^ Comparative landscape genetics of two endemic torrent salamander species, Rhyacotriton kezeri and R. variegatus: implications for forest management and species conservation
- ^ Amphibians of Western North America
- ^ Geographic variation and speciation in the torrent salamanders of the genus Rhyacotriton (Caudata: Rhyacotritonidae)
- ^ ADW: Rhyacotritonidae: INFORMATION
- ^ The Biology of Amphibians and Reptiles in Old-Growth Forests in the Pacific Northwest
- ^ Reproductive Biology and Phylogeny of Urodela
- ^ Courtship in the Torrent Salamander, Rhyacotriton, has an Ancient and Stable History
- ^ “https://bioone.org/journals/northwestern-naturalist/volume-99/issue-3/NWN17-29.1/Olympic-Torrent-Salamander-Rhyacotriton-olympicus-Oviposition-Site-With-Notes-On/10.1898/NWN17-29.1.short”. doi:10.1898/nwn17-29.1.short. Archived from the original on 2025-01-23. ;
- ^ “AmphibiaWeb – Rhyacotriton kezeri”. amphibiaweb.org. Retrieved 2025-04-09.
- ^ Alexander Pyron, R.; J. Weins, John (12 June 2011). “A large-scale phylogeny of Amphibia including over 2800 species, and a revised classification of extant frogs, salamanders, and caecilians”. Molecular Phylogenetics and Evolution. 61 (2). Elsevier: 543–583. doi:10.1016/j.ympev.2011.06.012. Retrieved 8 April 2025.
