Mountain Stream Salamander

The mountain stream salamander is a species of mole salamander found only in the mountains of central Mexico, west and south of the Valley of Mexico, at elevations between 2,700 and 3,200 meters. It lives in small streams running through high elevation pine and pine oak forest, with adults spending time both on land and in the water. Its back and sides are purplish black, the belly is purplish lavender, and the lip edges, digit tips, and the underside of the tail fin are cream colored. It is classified as endangered, with declines driven by illegal logging, heavy recreational tourism, stream pollution and sedimentation, stream diversion, and introduced predatory fish such as trout.