“…and today we’re talking about a creature that has a good grip despite how wet it is.”
Description
Slender body with a long tail, short limbs, and distinctive square-shaped toe tips containing large blood sinuses, which aid in climbing and gripping surfaces.
Coloration varies but is typically dark brown, gray, or black with a mottled or speckled pattern, often with lighter flecks or a bronze sheen, providing camouflage against tree bark or forest litter.
The toe tips have a vascularized structure with a single large sinus cavity divided by a septum, along with mucous and granular glands in the dorsal and dorsolateral integument, enhancing adhesion during arboreal movement.
Measure Up
Welcome to the beloved Measure Up segment. The official listener’s favorite part of the show! The part of the show when we present the animal’s size and dimension in relatable terms through a quiz that’s fun for the whole family. It’s also the part of the show that’s introduced by you when you send in audio of yourself saying, singing, or chittering the words Measure Up into ldtaxonomy at gmail dot com.
Frozen 2 – The Fire Spirit Scene Elsa Meets Bruni (2019)
Length of the Wandering Salamander
The Wandering Salamander has a total length of 100 mm (3.94 inches). How many objects fit into the salamander’s length (if the object is shorter) or how many salamanders fit into the object’s length (if the object is longer)?
Question: How many fit into each length comparison?
A) 4.0 Wandering Salamanders go into the length of a Haida totem pole carving
B) 2.5 Douglas fir cones go into the length of a Wandering Salamander
C) 1.5 Wandering Salamanders go into the length of a banana slug
a) The length of a Haida totem pole carving (single figure)
A single animal figure (e.g., a raven) on a Haida totem pole, a cultural artifact from British Columbia’s Indigenous peoples, typically measures about 50 cm (0.5 meters or 19.7 inches) in height.
b) The length of a Douglas fir cone
A Douglas fir cone (Pseudotsuga menziesii), common in Pacific Northwest forests, measures about 8 cm (80 mm or 3.15 inches) long.
c) The length of a banana slug
The Pacific banana slug (Ariolimax columbianus), a native of the Pacific Northwest, reaches about 15 cm (150 mm or 5.91 inches) for a large adult.
Weight of the Wandering Salamander
The Wandering Salamander weighs 10 grams (0.01 kg). How many objects fit into the salamander’s weight (if the object is lighter) or how many salamanders fit into the object’s weight (if the object is heavier)?
Question: How many fit into each weight comparison?
A) 40.0 Wandering Salamanders go into the weight of a Tlingit copper tinaa
B) 30.0 huckleberries go into the weight of a Wandering Salamander
C) 10.0 Wandering Salamanders go into the weight of a Salish woven cedar basket
a) The weight of a Tlingit copper tinaa
A Tlingit copper tinaa, a traditional shield-shaped metal plaque used as currency in British Columbia, weighs about 500 grams (0.5 kg) for a small ceremonial piece.
b) The weight of a huckleberry
A Pacific Northwest huckleberry (Vaccinium ovatum), a native fruit, weighs about 0.5 grams (0.0005 kg) per berry.
c) The weight of a Salish woven cedar basket
A small Salish woven cedar basket, a traditional craft from Vancouver Island, weighs about 100 grams (0.1 kg) for a lightweight piece.
Fast Facts
Here are some interesting facts about Aneides vagrans, the wandering salamander, highlighting its unique adaptations and ecological role:
Canopy-Dwelling Salamander:
Aneides vagrans is one of the few salamanders worldwide that lives year-round in tree canopies, particularly in old-growth redwood forests. It can be found up to 88 meters (289 feet) high in redwood trees, residing in fern mats and decaying wood cavities, a rare niche for a temperate-zone amphibian.
Specialized Toe Tips:
Its square-shaped toe tips contain large vascular sinuses and a unique septum, allowing dynamic blood flow adjustments for gripping surfaces. This adaptation enables precise climbing, jumping, and even gliding-like movements in the redwood canopy, inspiring potential bioinspired designs for adhesives or robotics.
Unique Locomotion:
When climbing vertically, A. vagrans uses a single-foot gait with smaller steps and a wider stance compared to horizontal walking, where it employs a diagonal couplet, lateral sequence walk. This adaptability makes it an exceptional arboreal navigator, unlike most terrestrial salamanders.
No Lungs, Just Skin:
As a lungless salamander (Plethodontidae), it breathes entirely through its skin and mouth lining, requiring moist environments like fern mats in redwood canopies, which can hold water like a sponge to prevent desiccation.
Egg Guarding in Trees:
Females lay small clutches of 6–12 eggs in moist canopy microhabitats (e.g., fern mats or wood cavities) and guard them for over three months until they hatch into miniature adults, skipping the aquatic larval stage typical of many amphibians.
Introduced to Canada:
A. vagrans is native to Northern California but was likely introduced to Vancouver Island, British Columbia, possibly via human activity (e.g., logging or transport). It has since established populations in Canadian redwood-like habitats.
High Population Density in Trees:
Studies estimate up to 29 individuals per tree in large redwoods, with salamanders showing strong site fidelity, rarely moving far (one recorded individual moved only 7 meters vertically within a tree crown over time).
Cultural and Scientific Curiosity:
Its arboreal lifestyle and unique morphology have made it a subject of fascination in studies of vertebrate adaptation to extreme habitats. Its toe tip structure is being researched for applications in robotics and adhesive technology.