THE CENTER FOR NORTH AMERICAN HERPETOLOGY

Amphibia    Caudata    Plethodontidae  

Arboreal Salamander
Aneides lugubris (Hallowell, 1849)
AH-nee-des — loo-GOO-bris

SSAR 9th Edition Comments:
 There are no current SSAR comments for this taxon.

Range maps are based on curated specimens and provided gratis by CNAH.
(Created by Travis W. Taggart; Version: 2023.09.21.10.04.49)
Download GeoJSON polygon range file: - 0.16 MB

Province/State Distribution:
United States: California

Taxonomic Etymology:
Named for its somber coloration.
Aneides — Greek an- = “not” + eidos = “form”
lugubris — Latin lugubris = “mournful,” “gloomy” — likely refers to its dark brown coloration.

First instance(s) of published English names:
Speckled Salamander (Amblystoma punctulatum: Cooper, James G. 1869. The fauna of California and its geographical distribution. Proceedings of the California Academy of Sciences 4():61-81); Mournful Salamander (Aneides lugubris: Cooper, James G. 1869. The fauna of California and its geographical distribution. Proceedings of the California Academy of Sciences 4():61-81); Sad-colored Anaides (Anaides lugubris: Yarrow, Henry C. 1882. Check list of North American Reptilia and Batrachia with catalogue of specimens in U. S. National Museum. Bulletin of the United States National Museum (24):1-249); Arboreal Salamander (Aneides lugubris: Schmidt, Karl P. 1953. A Check List of North American Amphibians and Reptiles. 6th Edition. University of Chicago Press, Chicago, Illinois. 280pp.); Farallon Island Salamander (Aneides lugubris farallonensis: Schmidt, Karl P. 1953. A Check List of North American Amphibians and Reptiles. 6th Edition. University of Chicago Press, Chicago, Illinois. 280pp.); Arboreal Salamander (Aneides lugubris lugubris: Schmidt, Karl P. 1953. A Check List of North American Amphibians and Reptiles. 6th Edition. University of Chicago Press, Chicago, Illinois. 280pp.); Oak Salamander (Aneides lugubris lugubris: Conant, Roger, Fred R. Cagle, Coleman J. Goin, Charles H. Lowe, Wilfred T. Neill, M. Graham Netting, Karl P. Schmidt, Charles E. Shaw, Robert C. Stebbins, and Charles M. Bogert. 1956. Common names for North American amphibians and reptiles. Copeia 1956(3):172-185);

Taxon Links:

  
Catalog of American Amphibians and Reptiles
  
Amphibian Species of the World
  
NatureServe
  
iNaturalist
  
GenBank
  
USGS - Nonindigenous Aquatic Species Database

Selected References:
1849 Hallowell, Edward. Description of a new species of salamander from upper California. Proceedings of the Academy of Natural Sciences of Philadelphia 4(6):126
1849 Hallowell, Edward. Description of a new species of salamander from upper California. Annals and Magazine of Natural History 4(19):76-77
1905 Van Denburgh, John. The reptiles and amphibians of the islands of the Pacific Coast of North America from the Farallons to Cape San Lucas and the Revilla Gigedos. Proceedings of the California Academy of Sciences, Series 3 4(`):1-40
1950 Lowe, Charles H., Jr. The systematic status of the salamander Plethodon hardii, with a discussion of biogeographical problems in Aneides. Copeia 1950:92-99
1974 Wake, David B. Aneides. Catalogue of American Amphibians and Reptiles (157):1-2
1974 Lynch, James F. and Wake, David B. Aneides lugubris. Catalogue of American Amphibians and Reptiles (159):1-2
2010 Kozak, Kenneth H. and John J. Wiens. Accelerated rates of climatic-niche evolution underlie rapid species diversification. Ecology Letter 13:1378-1389

THE CENTER FOR NORTH AMERICAN HERPETOLOGY — Accessed: Wednesday 04 March 2026 01:53 CT