Where do Salamaders live in Washington state???

Question

In Washington state, where do the Salamanders live?

Do they live under rocks? Underground?

THANKS!

Answer 1

Washington Amphibians

http://www.ups.edu/x6132.xml

Ambystoma gracile, Northwestern Salamander. In and near ponds and slow streams. West of Cascasdes.

Ambystoma macrodactylum, Long-toed Salamander. In many habitats, usually near water. Throughout state.

Ambystoma tigrinum, Tiger Salamander. Larvae in ponds or lakes (occasionally neotenic), adults may be far from permanent water in steppe. East of Cascades.

And so on, go to this site.

Even in places where salamanders are plentiful, humans are often unaware of their presence because they are typically inactive during the day and are virtually silent.

Many salamanders inhabit moist, forested areas, sheltering in shallow burrows or amidst fallen leaves, logs, and other ground debris. Some salamanders, including all members of a subgroup called newts, divide their time between land and watery environments such as the edges of streams and small springs. Others are totally aquatic. For instance, giant salamanders such as the hellbender spend their entire lives in rivers, streams, or bodies of water inside underground caves. On the other hand, some tropical salamanders never live in the water, making their homes in bushes and trees instead.

Species of salamander are numerous and found in most moist or arid habitats in the northern hemisphere. They usually live in or near brooks, creeks, ponds, and other moist locations. Many are relatively small, but there are definite exceptions. North America hosts the hellbender, the eastern tiger salamander, and the mudpuppy which can reach the length of 1 foot (30 cm) or more. In Japan and China the giant salamander is found, which reaches 6 feet (1.8 m) and weighs up to 30 kg (66 lb). There are ten families belonging to the order Urodela, divided into three suborders:

The life history of salamanders is similar to other amphibians such as frogs. The life cycle begins with an egg stage, usually laid the previous winter in a pond. A larval stage follows in which the organism is fully aquatic. Depending on species, the larval stage may or may not possess legs. The salamander possesses gills at this point. Some species (such as Dunn's Salamander (Plethodon dunni)) of salamander exhibit no larval stage. Neoteny has been observed in all salamander families, in which an individual may retain gills into sexual maturity. This may be universally possible in all salamander species.  More commonly, however, metamorphosis continues with the loss of gills, the growth (or increase in size) of legs, and the capability of the animal to function terrestrially.

Salamanders split off from the other amphibians during the Mid to Late Permian, and initially were similar to modern members of the Cryptobranchoidea. Any resemblance to lizards is the result of convergence of the basic tetrapod body plan, as they are no more closely related to lizards than they are to mammals. Their nearest relatives are the frogs and toads, within Batrachia.

Answer 2

From the Burke Museum, University of Washington, web site:

"Washington is home to 27 species of amphibians, including 14 salamanders (all native) and 11 native and 2 non-native frogs. Two species of salamanders occur only in Washington and nowhere else in the world! Many of the other local amphibians are unique to the Pacific Northwest. In fact, three entire families of amphibians (Dicamptodontidae, Rhyacotritonidae, and Ascaphidae) are endemic to the Pacific Northwest (that is, the entire family is found only in the Northwest); all of the amphibian species in these three endemic families are specialized for life in the clear, cool streams of Pacific Northwest forests."