Friends of the Clearwater Species Spotlight:
Coeur d’Alene Salamander (Plethodon idahoensis)  |
| An adult Coeur d’Alene salamander in Kootenai County, Idaho. Photo by Gary Nafis. |
by Will Boyd, from the March 2005 Newsletter
Found in the St. Joe and North Fork drainages of the Wild Clearwater Country, the Coeur d’Alene salamander is somewhat of an ecological marvel. It is the northern-most Plethodontid, or lungless, salamander and one of only four salamander species known to occur in Idaho and Montana. Lungless salamanders do lack internal lungs, respiring rather through their thin moist skin.
P. idahoensis has adapted to the harsh winters of northern climes and therefore has a great reliance on the stability provided by moist habitats. Individuals may spend up to seven months underground, making use of the cool, moist interstitial spaces accessible from the falls, seep, or streamside it calls home. Adults mate above ground following an hour-long courtship ritual during late summer or early fall. Females produce a mere six eggs and deposit them at nest sites which have never been found in the wild.
Throughout its range the Coeur d’Alene salamander is regarded as a sensitive species. It is protected by law and listed as a category 2 candidate for threatened or endangered status as of 1983.
This regional endemic creature’s range extends from southeastern British Columbia, through northern Idaho, and into northwestern Montana. Idaho populations have been documented as far south as the Selway River.
Friends of the Clearwater (FOC) works to defend the wildlands of north-central Idaho so that species such as the Coeur d’Alene salamander may persist within the healthy diverse ecosystems where they are found. For more information about FOC please check out our Web site. And please be sure to tune in every Wednesday for the Wild Clearwater Country Show on 92.5 FM, KRFP Radio Free Moscow.
|
Copyright: Copyright on articles, recipes and
images are jointly held by the Moscow Food Co-op and the respective contributors,
except were otherwise noted.
|
For additions or corrections to this page, please contact the Webmaster.
