Family: Ambystomidae, Mole Salamanders view all from this family

Description 5 5/8-8 5/8" (14.3-21.9 cm). Robust; gray-brown to chocolate-brown above; sometimes with many light flecks. Parotoid glands form large oval swelling behind each eye. Rounded rough ridge along upper edge of tail. Belly light brown. No tubercles on feet. Costal grooves, 10-12.

Warning When molested, adults secrete a sticky, white substance from glands on the head, body, and tail that can be mildly irritating to human skin.

Subspecies Some sources recognize the following two subspecies, but most authorities don't consider them valid:
Brown Salamander (A. g. gracile), uniform color, 2 joints on fourth toe of hind feet; Vancouver Island and British Columbia to n. California.
British Columbia Salamander (A. g. decorticatum), with many light flecks, 3 joints on fourth toe; se. Alaska to British Columbia.

Breeding January to July, late in northern areas and at high elevations. Female lays small, compact masses of 15-35 eggs or large, elongated masses of 100-200 that adhere to debris in lakes, ponds, and slow-moving streams. Larvae hatch in 2-4 weeks at 5/9" (16 mm) and transform 1-2 years later at 3-3 1/2" (76-89 mm).

Habitat Humid sites, open grassland to dense forest; often beneath debris along stream banks; sea level to 10,000' (3,048 m).

Range Pacific coast from Gualala River, California, north to extreme se. Alaska.

Discussion Secretive and rarely seen except during breeding season. Mountain populations are often neotenic. Salamanders with this condition fail to metamorphose from larval form to adult, but instead become sexually mature and reproduce while retaining larval features. Some authorities recognize two subspecies, but the current consensus is against any subspecies divisions.