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BIOLOGICAL INFORMATION 

 Species description 



The Coeur d'Alene salamander was first described in 1939 from 

 the northeastern end of Lake Coeur d'Alene in Kootenai County, 

 Idaho (Slater and Slipp 1940) . It is one of only four salamander 

 species known to occur in Idaho and Montana, and is the only 

 lungless salamander (Plethodontidae) known from the northern 

 Rocky Mountains (Nussbaum et al. 1983) . The salamander is black 

 with a yellowish throat patch and a yellow, orange, green, or red 

 stripe down the middle of the back. The stripe usually has 

 scalloped edges but may have even edges in some animals. It is 

 small, with a maxim;im snout-vent length (SVL) (body length 

 without tail) of 62 mm (about 2.4 in). Coeur d'Alene salamanders 

 have relatively long legs and short, slightly webbed toes. 

 Females are usually slightly larger than males. Individuals 

 under 44 mm (1.75 in) SVL are sexually immature (Lynch 1984). 



The Coeur d'Alene salamander is most easily confused with the 

 long-toed salamander ( Amby stoma macrodactvlum ) by inexperienced 

 observers. The long-toed salamander is the most common 

 salamander in the northern Rockies. It is found in a variety of 

 habitats from sagebrush deserts to alpine meadows often in and 

 around ponds and lakes. Besides occupying different habitats 

 than the Coeur d'Alene salamander, the long-toed salamander lacks 

 a light throat patch and, as its name implies, has longer toes. 

 Pictvires of both species can be found in Groves (1989b) (color) 

 and Nussbaum et al. 1983 (black and white) . 



