BC Conservation Data Centre: Species Summary
Aneides vagrans
Wandering Salamander
| Scientific Name: | Aneides vagrans Wake and Jackman, 1998 | ||||||||||
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| English Name: | Wandering Salamander | ||||||||||
| Classification / Taxonomy | |||||||||||
| Scientific Name - Concept Reference: | Jackman, T. R. 1998. Molecular and historical evidence for the introduction of clouded salamanders (genus Aneides) to Vancouver Island, British Columbia, Canada, from California. Canadian Journal of Zoology 76:1570-1580. | ||||||||||
| Classification Level: | Species | ||||||||||
| Species Group: | Vertebrate Animal | ||||||||||
| Species Code: | A-ANVA | ||||||||||
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| Conservation Status / Legal Designation | |||||||||||
| Global Status: | G4 (Mar 2005) | ||||||||||
| Provincial Status: | S3 (Mar 2022) | ||||||||||
| BC List: | Blue | ||||||||||
| Provincial FRPA list: | |||||||||||
| Provincial Wildlife Act: | |||||||||||
| COSEWIC Status: | Special Concern (May 2014) | ||||||||||
| SARA Schedule: | 1 - Special Concern (Feb 2018) | ||||||||||
| General Status Canada: | 4 - Secure (2005) | ||||||||||
| Ecology & Life History | |||||||||||
| General Description: | |||||||||||
| Global Reproduction Comments: | In British Columbia, unhatched clutches of up to 23 eggs were found from late June through early September (Davis 2003). Female attends eggs, but both sexes have been found at nest sites. Eggs hatch in about 60 days. Females probably lay eggs at 2-year intervals. | ||||||||||
| Migration Characteristics: (Global / Provincial) | |||||||||||
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Nonmigrant: Local Migrant: Distant Migrant: Within Borders Migrant: |
Y / N / N / na / |
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| Global Migration Comments: | Site tenacious; moves only short distances; 94 percent of recaptures were within 10 m of the initial capture location (Davis 2002). | ||||||||||
| Habitats: (Type / Subtype / Dependence) |
Forest / Conifer Forest - Moist/wet / Unknown
Grassland/Shrub / Shrub - Logged / Unknown Grassland/Shrub / Shrub - Natural / Unknown Riparian / Riparian Forest / Unknown Rock/Sparsely Vegetated Rock / Talus / Unknown |
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| Global Habitat Comments: | Moist coniferous forests; in forest edge, forest clearings, talus, and burned over areas. Usually found under bark, in rotten logs, or in rock crevices. May aggregate in decayed logs in summer. Requires large (greater than 20 inches in diameter) down logs of mid-decay classes with sloughing bark (Thomas et al. 1993). Logs are primary microhabitat in spring, summer, and fall on Vancouver Island (Davis 2002). Sometimes climbs high into trees. Lays eggs in cavities in rotten logs, in rock crevices, under bark, or among vegetation. Welsh and Wilson (1995) reported a clutch that had been in a fern clump at the base of a limb 30-40 meters above ground in a large redwood tree. | ||||||||||
| Food Habits: |
Invertivore: Adult, Immature
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| Global Food Habits Comments: | Opportunistic. Feeds on small arthropods (e.g., beetles, ants, isopods, spiders, and mites) (Nussbaum et al. 1983). | ||||||||||
| Global Phenology: |
Hibernates/aestivates: Adult, Immature
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| Global Phenology Comments: | Inactive in cold temperatures and hot, dry weather. | ||||||||||
| Provincial Phenology: (1st half of month/ 2nd half of month) |
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| Colonial Breeder: | N | ||||||||||
| Length(cm)/width(cm)/Weight(g): | 13/ / | ||||||||||
| Elevation (m) (min / max): |
Global:
Provincial: |
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| Distribution | |||||||||||
| Endemic: | N | ||||||||||
| Global Range Comment: | Northern Del Norte and Siskiyou counties, California, south through extreme western Trinity, Humboldt, and Mendocino counties in an increasingly narrow, forested coastal strip to the vicinity of Stewart's Point, northwestern Sonoma County, California (Wake and Jackman, in Jackman 1998). Widespread on Vancouver Island and neighboring islands in British Columbia, and also has been found on the mainland, but all of these populations are believed to be derived ultimately from human-mediated introductions that occurred in conjunction with shipments of tan oak bark from California (Wake and Jackman, in Jackman 1998). The widespread occurrence of the species on Vancouver Island, including remote areas, lends support to an alternative hypothesis of dispersal from California during post-glacial times via natural log-rafting on north-flowing ocean currents (COSEWIC 2014). | ||||||||||
| Authors / Contributors | |||||||||||
| Global Information Author: | Hammerson, G. | ||||||||||
| Last Updated: | Nov 10, 2003 | ||||||||||
| Provincial Information Author: | |||||||||||
| Last Updated: | |||||||||||
| References and Related Literature | |||||||||||
Behler, J. L., and F. W. King. 1979. The Audubon Society field guide to North American reptiles and amphibians. Alfred A. Knopf, New York. 719 pp. |
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McKenzie, D.S. and R.M. Storm. 1970. Patterns of habitat selection in the clouded salamander, Aneides ferreus (Cope). Herpetologica 26(4):450-454. |
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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. |
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Ovaska, K, S. Lennart, C Engelstoft, L. Matthias, E. Wind and J. MacGarvie. 2004. Best Management Practices for Amphibians and Reptiles in Urban and Rural Environments in British Columbia. Ministry of Water Land and Air Protection, Ecosystems Standards and Planning, Biodiversity Branch |
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Stebbins, R. C. 1985a. A field guide to western reptiles and amphibians. Second edition. Houghton Mifflin Company, Boston, Massachusetts. xiv + 336 pp. |
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Thomas, J. W., Ward, J., Raphael, M.G., Anthony, R.G., Forsman, E.D., Gunderson, A.G., Holthausen, R.S., Marcot, B.G., Reeves, G.H., Sedell, J.R. and Solis, D.M. 1993. Viability assessments and management considerations for species associated with late-successional and old-growth forests of the Pacific Northwest. The report of the Scientific Analysis Team. USDA Forest Service, Spotted Owl EIS Team, Portland Oregon. 530 pp. |
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Wake, D. 1965. Aneides ferreus. Catalogue of American Amphibians and Reptiles. 16:1-2. |
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Please visit the website Conservation Status Ranks for definitions of the data fields used in this summary report.
Suggested Citation:
B.C. Conservation Data Centre. 2003. Species Summary: Aneides vagrans. B.C. Minist. of Environment. Available: https://a100.gov.bc.ca/pub/eswp/ (accessed Jun 7, 2026).