NATURAL HISTORY · CATALOGUE RECORD
Northwestern Salamander
Ambystoma gracile (Baird, 1859)
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.
Open encyclopedia reference
The northwestern salamander (Ambystoma gracile) is a species of mole salamander that inhabits the northwest Pacific coast of North America. These fairly large salamanders grow to 8.7 in (220 mm) in length. It is found from southeastern Alaska on May Island, through Washington and Oregon south to the mouth of the Gualala River, Sonoma County, California. It occurs from sea level to the timberline, but not east of the Cascade Divide. Its range includes Vancouver Island in British Columbia and The San Juan Islands, Cypress, Whidbey, Bainbridge, and Vashon Islands in Washington.
Wikipedia contributors, Northwestern salamander; see linked history · CC BY-SA 4.0 . Plain-text lead excerpt, at most 180 words; no infobox or later sections Retrieved 2026-10-05T07:59:27.799324+00:00. This reference remains separate from the taxonomic record.
Identity & source status
- Scientific name
- Ambystoma gracile (Baird, 1859)
- Name authority
- (Baird, 1859)
- Common name
- Northwestern Salamander
- Rank
- species
- Accepted status
- accepted
- Kingdom
- Animalia
- Phylum
- Chordata
- Class
- Amphibia
- Order
- Caudata
- Family
- Ambystomatidae
- Genus
- Ambystoma
- 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
- genusAmbystoma Tschudi, 1838
- speciesAmbystoma gracile (Baird, 1859)
Close classified relatives
These entries share the source’s genus, Ambystoma. They are not necessarily the closest relatives established by molecular evidence.
| Species | Classification | Source status |
|---|---|---|
| Ambystoma ordinarium Taylor, 1940 | AmbystomatidaeChordata | Accepted speciesRecorded extant |
| Ambystoma altamirani Dugès, 1895 | AmbystomatidaeChordata | Accepted speciesRecorded extant |
| Ambystoma amblycephalum Taylor, 1940 | AmbystomatidaeChordata | Accepted speciesRecorded extant |
| Ambystoma andersoni Krebs & Brandon, 1984 | AmbystomatidaeChordata | Accepted speciesRecorded extant |
| Ringed SalamanderAmbystoma annulatum Cope, 1886 | AmbystomatidaeChordata | Accepted speciesRecorded extant |
| Streamside SalamanderAmbystoma barbouri Kraus & Petranka, 1989 | AmbystomatidaeChordata | Accepted speciesRecorded extant |
| Reticulated Flatwoods SalamanderAmbystoma bishopi Goin, 1950 | AmbystomatidaeChordata | Accepted speciesRecorded extant |
| California Tiger SalamanderAmbystoma californiense Gray, 1853 | AmbystomatidaeChordata | Accepted speciesRecorded extant |
| Ambystoma dumerilii (Dugès, 1870) | AmbystomatidaeChordata | Accepted speciesRecorded extant |
| Lake Lerma SalamanderAmbystoma lermaense (Taylor, 1940) | AmbystomatidaeChordata | Accepted speciesRecorded extant |
| AxolotlAmbystoma mexicanum (Shaw & Nodder, 1798) | AmbystomatidaeChordata | Accepted speciesRecorded extant |
| Ambystoma silvense Webb, 2004 | AmbystomatidaeChordata | Accepted speciesRecorded extant |
Names & synonyms
Names explicitly linked to this accepted taxon in the source. Synonymy can change with revision.
| Recorded name | Source status |
|---|---|
| Chondrotus paroticus (Baird in Cope, 1868) (Baird in Cope, 1868) | synonym |
| Chondrotus decorticatus (Cope, 1886) (Cope, 1886) | synonym |
| Amblystoma decorticatum Cope, 1886 Cope, 1886 | synonym |
| Amblystoma paroticum Baird in Cope, 1868 Baird in Cope, 1868 | synonym |
| Ambystoma decorticatum Cope, 1886 Cope, 1886 | synonym |
| Siredon gracilis Baird, 1859 Baird, 1859 | synonym |
| Ambystoma gracile gracile (Baird, 1859) (Baird, 1859) | synonym |
| Ambystoma gracile decorticatum Cope, 1886 Cope, 1886 | synonym |
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=173597 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. A suitable sourced image remains to be added.
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:CQ44. Classification follows source parent identifiers. English common names may vary by region.