![]() Its coloration is brown to pinkish above with a wide dorsal stripe with indefinite borders, and may be made up of many light speckles. ![]() ![]() Fairly robust for a slender salamander, with relatively long legs. There are four toes on the front and hind feet, which is also typical of slender salamanders. It has short limbs, a narrow head, long slender body, very long tail, and with its conspicuous costal and end of torso grooves, this species has the worm-like appearance typical of most slender salamanders. The Channel Islands slender salamander is a small slim salamander with 18-20 costal grooves, which denote its rib connections. The cool marine climate of the Channel Islands, including summer fog, provides enough moisture for this species to be active all year.The tail is easily broken off, but it can be regenerated.It might also uncoil quickly and spring away, repeatedly bouncing over the ground, or drop its tail to distract a predator.Typical of most slender salamanders, when disturbed, this salamander may coil up and remain still, relying on cryptic coloring to avoid detection.Lungless salamanders breathe through their skin, requiring them to live in damp environments on land, not in water, and to move about on the ground only during times of high humidity.The Channel Islands slender salamander is a member of family Plethodontidae, the lungless salamanders.This secretive creature is found under rocks and logs (mainly near streams) and also in the soil litter, or duff, during the winter and spring rainy season. The Channel Island slender salamander is found on Santa Cruz, San Miguel, Santa Rosa, and Anacapa islands and is the only endemic amphibian found on any of the California islands.
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