Ambrosi's cave salamander or the Spezia cave salamander (''Speleomantes ambrosii'') is a species of

salamander Salamanders are a group of amphibians typically characterized by their lizard-like appearance, with slender bodies, blunt snouts, short limbs projecting at right angles to the body, and the presence of a tail in both larvae and adults. All t ...

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 ...

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 else ...

to northwestern Italy, its natural

habitat In ecology, the term habitat summarises the array of resources, physical and biotic factors that are present in an area, such as to support the survival and reproduction of a particular species. A species habitat can be seen as the physical ...

s are temperate

forest A forest is an area of land dominated by trees. Hundreds of definitions of forest are used throughout the world, incorporating factors such as tree density, tree height, land use, legal standing, and ecological function. The United Nations' ...

s, rocky areas,

cave A cave or cavern is a natural void in the ground, specifically a space large enough for a human to enter. Caves often form by the weathering of rock and often extend deep underground. The word ''cave'' can refer to smaller openings such as sea ...

s, and subterranean habitats (other than caves). It is threatened by

habitat loss Habitat destruction (also termed habitat loss and habitat reduction) is the process by which a natural habitat becomes incapable of supporting its native species. The organisms that previously inhabited the site are displaced or dead, thereby ...

Description

Ambrosi's cave salamander has short, stout limbs, pointed toes and a short tail and grows to around including the tail. There is a ridge known as a

canthus The canthus (pl. canthi, palpebral commissures) is either corner of the eye where the upper and lower eyelids meet. More specifically, the inner and outer canthi are, respectively, the medial and lateral ends/angles of the palpebral fissure. T ...

between the snout and the eye. The colour is variable, being brown to black with marbling, mottling or streaking in grey, green, yellow, red, pink or brown. Some individuals are a uniform brown or black colour. The underparts are also dark with paler markings.

Distribution and habitat

Ambrosi's cave salamander is endemic to a small area of northwestern Italy, occurring at scattered locations in La Spezia province. Despite its name, it is not restricted to caves though it retreats under stones, logs and into caverns in dry periods. At other times it is active on the

leaf litter Plant litter (also leaf litter, tree litter, soil litter, litterfall or duff) is dead plant material (such as leaves, bark, needles, twigs, and cladodes) that have fallen to the ground. This detritus or dead organic material and its constituent ...

near streams and on wet rocky outcrops in wooded valleys at altitudes of up to . In the southeast of its distribution, where its range overlaps that of the

Italian cave salamander The Italian cave salamander (''Speleomantes italicus'') is a species of salamander in the family Plethodontidae. Endemic to Italy, its natural habitats are temperate forests, rocky areas, caves, and subterranean habitats (other than caves). It is ...

(''Speleomantes italicus''), the two species sometimes hybridise.

Behaviour

Ambrosi's cave salamander is found in moist environments where it is active by night on the ground, sometimes scrambling around in low vegetation. Males become sexually mature at four years and females at five. After an elaborate courtship routine, a clutch of a few eggs about long is laid in a concealed location where they are guarded by the female until they hatch directly into juvenile salamanders. Longevity is estimated to be seventeen years.

Status

The

International Union for Conservation of Nature The International Union for Conservation of Nature (IUCN; officially International Union for Conservation of Nature and Natural Resources) is an international organization working in the field of nature conservation and sustainable use of nat ...

has assessed the Ambrosi's cave salamander as being critically endangered. This is on the basis that it has a very restricted range, its total extent of occurrence being less than , and suitable habitat may be declining locally. However it occurs in two protected areas, the

Parco Nazionale delle Cinque Terre Cinque Terre National Park (Italian: ''Parco Nazionale delle Cinque Terre'') is a protected area inducted as an Italian national park in 1999. Located in the province of La Spezia, Liguria, northern Italy, it is the smallest national park in Ital ...

and the Parco naturale regionale delle Alpi Apuane. It is possible that the subspecies ''Speleomantes ambrosii bianchii'' may be reassigned to ''S. italicus'', and if that were the case, its extent of occurrence would be reduced and its status would need to be reassessed.

References

{{Taxonbar, from=Q1932798 Speleomantes Cave salamanders Amphibians of Europe Endemic fauna of Italy Amphibians described in 1954 Taxonomy articles created by Polbot