NATURAL HISTORY · CATALOGUE RECORD
Cope's Giant Salamander
Dicamptodon copei Nussbaum, 1970
Source-backed taxonomic record
Accepted species in Catalogue of Life’s 11 September 2026 base release. This preserves the source classification and available supporting data; it is not a completed species monograph.
Metamorphosed Dicamptodon copei.
KtBstn · CC BY-SA 4.0 · Image sourceProvider-generated thumbnail requested at 800 pixels; no local editing Local WebP display rendition; resized without cropping.
Open encyclopedia reference
Cope's giant salamander (Dicamptodon copei) is a species of salamander in the family Dicamptodontidae, the Pacific giant salamanders. It is native to Washington and Oregon in the Pacific Northwest region of the United States.
Wikipedia contributors, Cope's giant salamander; see linked history · CC BY-SA 4.0 . Plain-text lead excerpt, at most 180 words; no infobox or later sections Retrieved 2026-10-05T10:39:03.385030+00:00. This reference remains separate from the taxonomic record.
Identity & source status
- Scientific name
- Dicamptodon copei Nussbaum, 1970
- Name authority
- Nussbaum, 1970
- Common name
- Cope's Giant Salamander
- Rank
- species
- Accepted status
- accepted
- Kingdom
- Animalia
- Phylum
- Chordata
- Class
- Amphibia
- Order
- Caudata
- Family
- Ambystomatidae
- Genus
- Dicamptodon
- Extinction status
- Recorded extant
Classification family tree
Nested taxonomic groups from the source. This is not a direct-ancestor chain, a dated evolutionary tree or a phylogenetic reconstruction.
- domainEukaryota (Chatton, 1925) Whittaker & Margulis, 1978
- kingdomAnimalia
- phylumChordata
- subphylumVertebrata
- infraphylumGnathostomata
- parvphylumOsteichthyes
- megaclassTetrapoda
- classAmphibia
- orderCaudata
- familyAmbystomatidae Gray, 1850
- genusDicamptodon Strauch, 1870
- speciesDicamptodon copei Nussbaum, 1970
Close classified relatives
These entries share the source’s genus, Dicamptodon. They are not necessarily the closest relatives established by molecular evidence.
| Species | Classification | Source status |
|---|---|---|
| Coastal Giant SalamanderDicamptodon tenebrosus (Baird & Girard, 1852) | AmbystomatidaeChordata | Accepted speciesRecorded extant |
| Idaho Giant SalamanderDicamptodon aterrimus (Cope, 1868) | AmbystomatidaeChordata | Accepted speciesRecorded extant |
Documented distribution
Source distribution statements, not a complete range map. A listed locality is not necessarily a place of origin.
Source literature & publication evidence
References attached to this source record, including nomenclatural citations where supplied. This is a selected bibliography; abbreviated citations remain in the source’s form.
- https://www.itis.gov/servlet/SingleRpt/SingleRpt?search_topic=TSN&search_value=173742 Source fields: Taxon.tsv dwc:namePublishedIn, Taxon.tsv dcterms:references
Origins, evidence & remaining research
Name authority and publication references document nomenclature where the source supplies it. They do not establish evolutionary origins or the earliest fossil occurrence.
Specimen-level evidence, morphology, ecological research, phylogenetic studies, a comprehensive bibliography and a located literary passage have not yet been compiled for this record.
Dataset citation & attribution
This exact taxon in ChecklistBank · Catalogue of Life 2026-09-11
Catalogue of Life 2026-09-11; dataset 316321; doi:10.48580/dgz5n. https://creativecommons.org/licenses/by/4.0/ . Retrieved 5 October 2026.
Stable key: col:35HZT. Classification follows source parent identifiers. English common names may vary by region.