Northwestern Salamander

The northwestern salamander is a mole salamander of the Pacific Northwest coast, ranging from southeastern Alaska through Washington and Oregon to the mouth of the Gualala River in Sonoma County, California, including Vancouver Island and the San Juan Islands, though it does not cross east of the Cascade divide. It is a fairly large salamander, up to 8.7 inches long, with hatchlings bearing feathery gills on the sides of the body, and it lays distinctive egg masses that feel much like a brain wrapped in a jelly layer. Terrestrial adults are mostly fossorial, living in grassland to forest habitat and surfacing mainly during fall rains and spring migrations to breeding ponds, where they feed on insects, worms, and other small invertebrates. It is assessed as least concern, with no apparent population decline in Canada.