Rhyacotriton Dunn 1920

The torrent salamanders or Cascade salamanders are a family of salamanders (Rhyacotritonidae) with only one genus, Rhyacotriton. The torrent salamanders are endemic to the United States in the Pacific Northwest (including northwestern California).^[1]

Species

The genus Rhyacotriton includes four species:

• Cascade torrent salamander (R. cascadae)
• Columbia torrent salamander (R. kezeri)
• Olympic torrent salamander (R. olympicus)
• Southern torrent salamander (R. variegatus)

Taxonomy

Originally the genus Rhyacotriton was placed in the family Ambystomatidae, later in the family Dicamptodontidae, and finally in 1992 it was placed into a family of its own. At the same time the only species Rhyacotriton olympicus was split into four species due to genetic analysis.

References