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Home/Species/ Shasta Black Salamander

Aneides iecanus

(Cope, 1883)

Shasta Black Salamander

G4Apparently Secure Found in 8 roadless areas NatureServe Explorer →
G4Apparently SecureGlobal Rank
EndangeredIUCN
LowThreat Impact
Identity
Unique IDELEMENT_GLOBAL.2.857907
Element CodeAAAAD01080
Record TypeSPECIES
ClassificationSpecies
Classification StatusStandard
Name CategoryVertebrate Animal
IUCNEndangered
Endemicendemic to a single state or province
KingdomAnimalia
PhylumCraniata
ClassAmphibia
OrderCaudata
FamilyPlethodontidae
GenusAneides
Concept Reference
Reilly, S. B., and D. B. Wake. 2019. Taxonomic revision of black salamanders of the Aneides flavipunctatus complex (Caudata: Plethodontidae). PeerJ 7(e:7370):1–36.
Taxonomic Comments
This species was removed from the synonymy of Aneides flavipunctatus by Rissler and Apodaca (2007) and was redescribed by Reilly and Wake (2019).
Conservation Status
Rank Method Rank calculation - Biotics v2
Review Date2026-01-11
Change Date2026-01-11
Edition Date2026-01-11
Edition AuthorsGundy, R. L. (2026)
Threat ImpactLow
Range Extent1000-20,000 square km (about 400-8000 square miles)
Number of Occurrences21 - 80
Rank Reasons
This species has a limited range in northern California. Much of the range lies within Shasta-Trinity National Forest. Threats include habitat loss via logging, increasing water levels in the Shasta Lake reservoir, and climate change.
Range Extent Comments
This species is endemic to northern California. This species is known from north-central and western Shasta County, as well as extreme southeastern Siskiyou County in the vicinity of Castle Crags (Reilly and Wake 2019). Elevation ranges from 300 m to roughly 1000 m, but generally below 600 m (Lynch 1981, Reilly and Wake 2019). Using Global Biodiversity Information Facility (GBIF) (2026) records, range extent is estimated to be 4,953 km² (RARECAT 2025).
Occurrences Comments
Applying a 3 km separation distance to GBIF (2026) records, 42 occurrences are estimated (RARECAT 2025).
Threat Impact Comments
Raising water levels of the Shasta Lake reservoir would further reduce the amount of available habitat (Reilly and Wake 2019). Climate change will likely make the habitat in the limited range of this species less suitable (Early and Sax 2011). Logging in Shasta-Trinity National Forest may also reduce habitat suitability.
Ecology & Habitat

Description

A large (some individuals exceed 80 mm snout-to-vent length (SVL) salamander of the Aneides flavipunctatus complex distinguished from members of the subgenus Castaneides by larger size (A. aeneus less than 70 SVL), rounded rather than flattened head and body, more robust body and tail, with relative much shorter limbs and digits and blackish rather than greenish coloration (Reilly and Wake 2019). Dorsal coloration is black with numerous small white spots (Reilly and Wake 2019).

Diagnostic Characteristics

This species is distinguished from other members of the Aneides flavipunctatus complex (A. flavipunctatus, A. klamathensis, A. niger) by its heavily speckled head, body and tail (Lynch 1981). White spots on the body are generally smaller and more numerous than in other species of the A. flavipunctatus complex (Lynch 1981, Reilly and Wake 2019). It is further distinguished from both A. klamathensis and A. niger by having an average of 16 rather than 17 trunk vertebrae (Reilly and Wake 2019).

Habitat

This species is primarily found in coniferous forests, often in close association with shaded streams (Lynch 1974, Lynch 1981, Reilly and Wake 2019).

Ecology

Likely very long-lived, up to at least 20 years (Staub 2016).

Reproduction

There is no aquatic larval stage.
Terrestrial Habitats
Forest - ConiferForest - MixedWoodland - ConiferWoodland - MixedGrassland/herbaceousBare rock/talus/scree
Palustrine Habitats
Riparian
Other Nations (1)
United StatesNNR
ProvinceRankNative
CaliforniaSNRYes
Threat Assessments
ThreatScopeSeverityTiming
5 - Biological resource usePervasive (71-100%)UnknownHigh (continuing)
5.3 - Logging & wood harvestingPervasive (71-100%)UnknownHigh (continuing)
5.3.4 - Unintentional effects: large scale (species being assessed is not the target) [harvest]Pervasive (71-100%)UnknownHigh (continuing)
11 - Climate change & severe weatherPervasive (71-100%)Slight or 1-10% pop. declineHigh (continuing)
11.1 - Habitat shifting & alterationPervasive (71-100%)Slight or 1-10% pop. declineHigh (continuing)

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Roadless Areas (8)
California (8)
AreaForestAcres
BackboneShasta-Trinity National Forest11,466
Castle Crags AShasta-Trinity National Forest113
Castle Crags BShasta-Trinity National Forest1,619
Devils RockShasta-Trinity National Forest16,209
Dog CreekShasta-Trinity National Forest5,001
East GirardShasta-Trinity National Forest27,894
Kettle Mtn.Shasta-Trinity National Forest4,589
West GirardShasta-Trinity National Forest37,516
References (11)
  1. Early, R. and D.F. Sax. 2011. Analysis of climate paths reveals potential limitations on species range shifts. Ecology letters, 14(11), pp.1125-1133.
  2. Frost, D.R. 2020. Amphibian Species of the World: an Online Reference. Version 6.0. American Museum of Natural History, New York, USA. Online: http://research.amnh.org/herpetology/amphibia/index.html
  3. Global Biodiversity Information Facility (GBIF). 2026. Global Biodiversity Information Facility (GBIF) data portal. Online. Available: https://www.gbif.org/ (accessed 2026).
  4. Lynch, J. 1974. Aneides flavipunctatus. Catalogue of American Amphibians and Reptiles. 158:1-2.
  5. Lynch, J. F. 1981. Patterns of ontogenetic and geographic variation in the black salamander, <i>Aneides flavipunctatus</i> (Caudata: Plethodontidae). Smithsonian Contributions to Zoology 324. 53 pp.
  6. Lynch, J. F. 1985. The feeding ecology of <i>Aneides flavipunctatus</i> and sympatric plethodontid salamanders in northwestern California. J. Herpetol. 19:328-352.
  7. Nussbaum, R.A., E.D. Brodie, Jr., and R.M. Storm. 1983. Amphibians and Reptiles of the Pacific Northwest. University Press of Idaho, Moscow, Idaho. 332 pp.
  8. <p>NatureServe's Rapid Analysis of Rarity and Endangerment Conservation Assessment Tool (RARECAT). 2025. Version: 2.1.1 (released April 04, 2025).</p>
  9. Reilly, S. B., and D. B. Wake. 2019. Taxonomic revision of black salamanders of the <i>Aneides flavipunctatus</i> complex (Caudata: Plethodontidae). PeerJ 7(e:7370):1–36.
  10. Rissler, L. J., and J. J. Apodaca. 2007. Adding more ecology into species delimitation: ecological niche models and phylogeography help define cryptic species in the black salamander (<i>Aneides flavipunctatus</i>). Systematic Biology 56:924-942.
  11. Staub, N. L. 2016. The age of plethodontid salamanders: a short review on longevity. Copeia 104(1): 118-123. doi: 10.1643/OT-14-200