Ambystoma gracile (Baird, 1859)

Class: Amphibia > Order: Caudata > Family: Ambystomatidae > Genus: Ambystoma > Species: Ambystoma gracile

Siredon gracilis Baird, 1859 "1857", Rep. Upon Explor Surv. Route Railroad Mississippi–Pacific Ocean, 10 (Part 4, No. 4): 13, pl. 44, fig. 2. Syntypes: USNM 4080 (2 larval specimens) according to Cochran, 1961, Bull. U.S. Natl. Mus., 220: 25, and Tighe, 2022, Smithson. Contrib. Zool., 654: 16. Type locality: "Cascade Mountains, near latitude 40° [N.]", Oregon, USA. Given as "Cascade Mountains, Oregon, latitude 44° [N.]", USA, by Cochran, 1961, Bull. U.S. Natl. Mus., 220: 25.

Amblystoma paroticum Baird In Cope, 1868 "1867", Proc. Acad. Nat. Sci. Philadelphia, 19: 200. Holotype: USNM 4708 according to Yarrow, 1882, Bull. U.S. Natl. Mus., 24: 151; see Tighe, 2022, Smithson. Contrib. Zool., 654: 6, for discussion of the confusion surrounding types. Type locality: "Chiloweyuck, W[ashington]. T[erritory]" (= Chilliwack Lake, British Columbia, Canada). Synonymy by Dunn, 1926, Copeia, 154: 135–136; Dunn, 1944, Copeia, 1944: 129.

Amblystoma decorticatum Cope, 1886, Proc. Am. Philos. Soc., 23: 522. Holotype: USNM 14493 according to Cochran, 1961, Bull. U.S. Natl. Mus., 220: 5, and Tighe, 2022, Smithson. Contrib. Zool., 654: 6. Type locality: "Port Simpson, Alaska", USA; corrected to "Port Simpson, British Columbia, Canada" by Bishop, 1943, Handb. Salamanders: 126, and Cochran, 1961, Bull. U.S. Natl. Mus., 220: 5. Synonymy by Dunn, 1944, Copeia, 1944: 129–130.

Chondrotus paroticus — Cope, 1887, Am. Nat., 21: 87–88, by implication; Cope, 1889, Bull. U.S. Natl. Mus., 34: 105.

Chondrotus decorticatus — Cope, 1887, Am. Nat., 21: 88, by implication; Cope, 1889, Bull. U.S. Natl. Mus., 34: 107.

Ambystoma decorticatum — Stejneger and Barbour, 1917, Check List N. Am. Amph. Rept.: 9.

Ambystoma gracile — Dunn, 1926, Copeia, 154: 136.

Ambystoma gracile gracile — Dunn, 1944, Copeia, 1944: 129.

Ambystoma gracile decorticatum — Dunn, 1944, Copeia, 1944: 129–130.

Ambystoma (Ambystoma) gracile — Tihen, 1958, Bull. Florida State Mus., Biol. Sci., 3: 3, 39; Dubois and Raffaëlli, 2012, Alytes, 28: 77–161. See comment under Ambystoma. 

Common Names

Vancouver's Salamander (Ambystoma paroticum [no longer recognized]: Yarrow, 1882, Bull. U.S. Natl. Mus., 24: 21).

British Columbia Salamander (Ambystoma paroticum [no longer recognized]: Storer, 1925, Univ. California Publ. Zool., 27: 42).

Northwestern Salamander (Ambystoma paroticum [no longer recognized]: Slevin, 1928, Occas. Pap. California Acad. Sci., 16: 26).

Northwestern Salamander (Ambystoma gracile: Bishop, 1943, Handb. Salamanders: 128; Stebbins, 1951, Amph. W. North Am.: 21; Schmidt, 1953, Check List N. Am. Amph. Rept., Ed. 6: 17; Conant, Cagle, Goin, Lowe, Neill, Netting, Schmidt, Shaw, Stebbins, and Bogert, 1956, Copeia, 1956: 173; Stebbins, 1966, Field Guide W. North Am. Rept. Amph.: 34; Collins, Huheey, Knight, and Smith, 1978, Herpetol. Circ., 7: 4; Frank and Ramus, 1995, Compl. Guide Scient. Common Names Amph. Rept. World: 27; Collins, 1997, Herpetol. Circ., 25: 5; Crother, Boundy, Campbell, de Queiroz, Frost, Highton, Iverson, Meylan, Reeder, Seidel, Sites, Taggart, Tilley, and Wake, 2001 "2000", Herpetol. Circ., 29: 18; Stebbins, 2003, Field Guide W. Rept. Amph., Ed. 3: 155; Tilley, Highton, and Wake, 2012, in Crother (ed.), Herpetol. Circ., 39: 13; Collins and Taggart, 2009, Standard Common Curr. Sci. Names N. Am. Amph. Turtles Rept. Crocodil., ed. 6: 10; Tilley, Highton, and Wake, 2012, in Crother (ed.), Herpetol. Circ., 39: 23; Highton, Bonett, and Jockusch, 2017, in Crother (ed.), Herpetol. Circ., 43: 22).

Oregon Salamander (Ambystoma gracile gracile [no longer recognized]: Schmidt, 1953, Check List N. Am. Amph. Rept., Ed. 6: 17), Brown Salamander (Conant, Cagle, Goin, Lowe, Neill, Netting, Schmidt, Shaw, Stebbins, and Bogert, 1956, Copeia, 1956: 173; Stebbins, 1966, Field Guide W. North Am. Rept. Amph.: 34; Collins, Huheey, Knight, and Smith, 1978, Herpetol. Circ., 7: 4).

British Columbia Salamander (Ambystoma gracile decorticatum) [no longer recognized]: Slevin, 1928, Occas. Pap. California Acad. Sci., 16: 28; Bishop, 1943, Handb. Salamanders: 126; Schmidt, 1953, Check List N. Am. Amph. Rept., Ed. 6: 17; Conant, Cagle, Goin, Lowe, Neill, Netting, Schmidt, Shaw, Stebbins, and Bogert, 1956, Copeia, 1956: 173; Stebbins, 1966, Field Guide W. North Am. Rept. Amph.: 34; Collins, Huheey, Knight, and Smith, 1978, Herpetol. Circ., 7: 4).

Distribution

Southeastern Alaska (Chichagof Island) south through western British Columbia (Canada), western Washington, and western Oregon south to the mouth of the Gualala River, Sonoma County, California, USA.

Geographic Occurrence

Natural Resident: Canada, United States of America, United States of America - Alaska, United States of America - California, United States of America - Oregon, United States of America - Washington

Comment

See detailed accounts by Snyder, 1963, Cat. Am. Amph. Rept., 6: 1–2, and Petranka, 1998, Salamand. U.S. Canada: 53–58. Titus, 1990, J. Herpetol., 24: 107–108, discussed genic variation and relationships among populations and recommended against subspecies recognition. See accounts by  Shaffer, 2005, in Lannoo (ed.), Amph. Declines: 609–611, Stebbins, 2003, Field Guide W. Rept. Amph., Ed. 3: 155–156, and Raffaëlli, 2007, Les Urodèles du Monde: 93. See Hodge, 1986, Herpetol. Rev., 17: 92, for Chichagot Island, Alaska, record. Shaffer, 2005, in Lannoo (ed.), Amph. Declines: 609–611, provided a detailed account Raffaëlli, 2013, Urodeles du Monde, 2nd ed.: 105–106, provided a brief account, photo, and map. Altig and McDiarmid, 2015, Handb. Larval Amph. US and Canada: 84–85, provided an account of larval morphology. Raffaëlli, 2022, Salamanders & Newts of the World: 165–166, provided an account, summarizing systematics, life history, population status, and distribution (including a polygon map) 

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