''Hydromantes'', commonly referred to as web-toed salamanders, is a genus of the lungless salamander 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 ...
; they achieve respiration through their skin and the tissues lining their mouth. They are
endemic
Endemism is the state of a species being found in a single defined geographic location, such as an island, state, nation, country or other defined zone; organisms that are indigenous to a place are not endemic to it if they are also found elsew ...
to mountains of
California
California is a U.S. state, state in the Western United States, located along the West Coast of the United States, Pacific Coast. With nearly 39.2million residents across a total area of approximately , it is the List of states and territori ...
in the
United States
The United States of America (U.S.A. or USA), commonly known as the United States (U.S. or US) or America, is a country primarily located in North America. It consists of 50 states, a federal district, five major unincorporated territorie ...
. Salamanders of this genus are distinguished in having extremely long tongues that they can project to 80% of their body length.
Similar species endemic to southern France and Italy are now classified in a distinct genus, ''
Speleomantes
''Speleomantes'', or European cave salamanders, are a genus of salamander in the family Plethodontidae, or lungless salamanders. It is one of two genera in the family to inhabit the Old World (the other being '' Karsenia''), with the remaining 2 ...
''.
Species
The following five species are placed in this genus:
References
External links
* . 2007. Amphibian Species of the World: an Online Reference. Version 5.2 (15 July 2008)
''Hydromantes'' Electronic Database accessible at https://web.archive.org/web/20071024033938/http://research.amnh.org/herpetology/amphibia/index.php. American Museum of Natural History, New York, USA. (Accessed: August 1, 2008).
*
eb application 2008. Berkeley, California
''Hydromantes'' AmphibiaWeb, available at http://amphibiaweb.org/. (Accessed: August 1, 2008).
Extant Pleistocene first appearances
Amphibian genera
Taxonomy articles created by Polbot
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