Bolitoglossa sima (Vaillant, 1911)
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 climbing salamander (Bolitoglossa sima), also known as the northwestern mushroomtongue salamander, is a species of salamander in the family Plethodontidae. It is endemic to Ecuador and found in the northwestern lowlands of the country at elevations below 1,000 m (3,300 ft) asl. It has been recorded in dense wet forest and in a grassy field, cleared for cattle grazing, although it is not known whether it could adapt to human-altered habitats. Agriculture and logging are threats to its habitat. It has been found in the Cotacachi Cayapas Ecological Reserve.
Wikipedia contributors, Northwestern climbing salamander; see linked history · CC BY-SA 4.0 . Plain-text lead excerpt, at most 180 words; no infobox or later sections Retrieved 2026-10-05T15:27:13.308762+00:00. This reference remains separate from the taxonomic record.
Identity & source status
- Scientific name
- Bolitoglossa sima (Vaillant, 1911)
- Name authority
- (Vaillant, 1911)
- Rank
- species
- Accepted status
- accepted
- Kingdom
- Animalia
- Phylum
- Chordata
- Class
- Amphibia
- Order
- Caudata
- Family
- Plethodontidae
- Genus
- Bolitoglossa
- 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
- familyPlethodontidae Gray, 1850
- subfamilyHemidactyliinae Hallowell, 1856
- genusBolitoglossa Duméril, Bibron & Duméril, 1854
- speciesBolitoglossa sima (Vaillant, 1911)
Close classified relatives
These entries share the source’s genus, Bolitoglossa. They are not necessarily the closest relatives established by molecular evidence.
| Species | Classification | Source status |
|---|---|---|
| Bolitoglossa compacta Wake, Brame & Duellman, 1973 | PlethodontidaeChordata | Accepted speciesRecorded extant |
| Bolitoglossa robinsoni Bolaños & Wake, 2009 | PlethodontidaeChordata | Accepted speciesRecorded extant |
| Bolitoglossa splendida Boza-Oviedo, Rovito, Chaves, García-Rodríguez, Artavia, Bolaños & Wake, 2012 | PlethodontidaeChordata | Accepted speciesRecorded extant |
| Bolitoglossa flavimembris (Schmidt, 1936) | PlethodontidaeChordata | Accepted speciesRecorded extant |
| Bolitoglossa alberchi García-París, Parra-Olea, Brame & Wake, 2002 | PlethodontidaeChordata | Accepted speciesRecorded extant |
| Bolitoglossa subpalmata (Boulenger, 1896) | PlethodontidaeChordata | Accepted speciesRecorded extant |
| Bolitoglossa veracrucis Taylor, 1951 | PlethodontidaeChordata | Accepted speciesRecorded extant |
| Bolitoglossa mulleri (Brocchi, 1883) | PlethodontidaeChordata | Accepted speciesRecorded extant |
| Bolitoglossa awajun Cusi, Gagliardi-Urrutia, Brcko, Wake & von May, 2020 | PlethodontidaeChordata | Accepted speciesRecorded extant |
| Bolitoglossa bolanosi Arias, Chaves & Parra-Olea, 2024 | PlethodontidaeChordata | Accepted speciesRecorded extant |
| Bolitoglossa altamazonica (Cope, 1874) | PlethodontidaeChordata | Accepted speciesRecorded extant |
| Bolitoglossa alvaradoi Taylor, 1954 | PlethodontidaeChordata | Accepted speciesRecorded extant |
Names & synonyms
Names explicitly linked to this accepted taxon in the source. Synonymy can change with revision.
| Recorded name | Source status |
|---|---|
| Spelerpes simus Vaillant, 1911 Vaillant, 1911 | synonym |
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=208420 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:MDS6. Classification follows source parent identifiers. English common names may vary by region.