The crater salamander (''Bolitoglossa marmorea''), also known as the marbled crater salamander, is a species of salamander in the family

Plethodontidae Plethodontidae, or lungless salamanders, are a family of salamanders. Most species are native to the Western Hemisphere, from British Columbia to Brazil, although a few species are found in Sardinia, Europe south of the Alps, and South Korea. In ...

. It is endemic to Costa Rica and Panama. Its natural habitat is subtropical, high-altitude moist montane forests. It has a small area of distribution (less than 5000 km2 and fewer than five locations) and is threatened by habitat loss therein.

Appearance

The crater salamander is a moderately sized salamander. Adults of the species typically range from 128 to 134 millimeters. It is colored purplish-brown with small yellow spots and flecking across its body. The tail of this salamander composes approximately 48–56% of its total length.

Habitat and ecology

The crater salamander is found in humid montane forest and is nocturnal, meaning it sleeps under rocks during the day and is found on mossy trunks and tree limbs at night. It inhabits the lower montane and montane slopes of southern

Cordillera de Talamanca The Cordillera de Talamanca is a mountain range that lies in the southeast half of Costa Rica and the far west of Panama. Much of the range and the area around it is included in La Amistad International Park, which also is shared between the two ...

of eastern Costa Rica and western Panama.

Conservation

Although endangered, the species does occur in two protected areas, Parque Nacional Volcán Barú in Panama and

La Amistad International Park The La Amistad International Park, or in Spanish , formerly the La Amistad National Park, is a Transboundary Protected Area in Latin America, management of which is shared between Costa Rica ( Caribbean La Amistad and Pacific La Amistad Conservati ...

in Panama and Costa Rica. Although known to be common, it is decreasing and the current population status is unknown due to lack of survey work.

References

Bolitoglossa Amphibians of Costa Rica Amphibians of Panama Endangered fauna of North America Taxonomy articles created by Polbot Amphibians described in 1961 {{Plethodontidae-stub