The Siskiyou Mountains salamander (Plethodon stormi),Sherman C. Bishop and Edmund D. Brodie, Jr., 1994. also called the Siskiyou Mountain salamander, exists only in isolated locations along the Klamath River in northern California and southern Oregon. It is a close relative of the Del Norte salamander, and some herpetologists believe it may be a subspecies of that animal.
Etymology The specific name, stormi, is in honor of Canadian-American herpetologist Robert Macleod Storm.Beolens B, Watkins M, Grayson M (2013). The Eponym Dictionary of Amphibians. Exeter, England: Pelagic Publishing. xiii + 244 pp. . (Plethodon stormi, p. 207).
Description The Siskiyou Mountains salamander is rich brown in color with white speckles. It is about long, not counting the tail, which is variable in length. Like all of the plethodontids, it lacks lungs and respires through its moist skin. It is nocturnal, prefers cool, moist environments, and is most active during rainfall or high humidity. It stays underground during hot periods and freezes.
Habitat The preferred natural habitat of P. stormi is rocky areas of forest, at altitudes of .
Reproduction The adult female P. stormi lays a clutch of 2–18 eggs every other year.
Conservation Plethodon stormi is an IUCN Red List endangered species in California. Logging and damming have reduced its habitat.
Other local amphibians In 2005, researchers discovered through genetic analysis that a larger, darker variant of this salamander is in fact a separate species. It has been named the Scott Bar salamander (Plethodon asupak).
Other prominent amphibians within the range of P. stormi include the rough-skinned newt, Taricha granulosa.C. Michael Hogan, 2008.
See also Siskiyou Mountains
References
Sources Bishop, Sherman C., and Brodie, Edmund D., Jr. (1994). Handbook of Salamanders: The Salamanders of the United States, of Canada, and of Lower California. Ithaca, New York: Cornell University Press. 555 pp. .
External links Hogan, C. Michael (2008). "Rough-skinned Newt (Taricha granulosa)". Globaltwitcher, ed. Nicklas Stromberg. Photos of the Siskiyou Mountains salamander & its habitat