IUCN Species of the Day: Salvin’s Mushroomtongue Salamander

The IUCN Red List of Threatened Species(tm)

Photo credit: Ted Papenfuss

Salvin’s Mushroomtongue Salamander, Bolitoglossa salvinii, is listed as ‘ENDANGERED’ on the IUCN Red List of Threatened Species™. This strikingly-coloured, arboreal salamander occurs in southern Guatemala and in El Salvador. It feeds on small invertebrates, which it catches by shooting out its projectile tongue.

Salvin’s Mushroomtongue Salamander has declined as a result of forest loss and fragmentation, mainly due to subsistence agriculture and wood extraction. Although it can persist in shaded coffee and banana plantations and in sugarcane fields, any clearance of these would create habitats too open and dry for its survival. Climate change may also pose a threat by altering moisture conditions, affecting the salamander’s ability to take in oxygen through its moist skin.

No specific conservation measures are known to be in place for this intriguing amphibian. However, it potentially occurs in the Parque Nacional El Imposible in El Salvador, and a number of protected areas have been proposed within its range in Guatemala. The maintenance of shaded habitats will be a vital factor in its survival.

Geographic Range of the Salvin’s Mushroomtongue Salamander

Credit: IUCN Red List of Threatened Species™

To learn more about the Salvin’s Mushroomtongue Salamander, click here.  Or visit the IUCN Red List of Threatened Species™ by clicking their logo below.

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To learn more about the Bush Warriors “Species of the Day” feature, please click here and read up on our initiative to raise awareness about the loss of earth’s biodiversity.


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