Amphibians
Golden-striped Salamander
Chioglossa lusitanica · also called golden-striped salamander
The golden-striped salamander is a slim, quick, bronze-black amphibian from the rainy northwest corner of Spain and Portugal, marked with two bright gold stripes that run down its back and merge on a tail that is twice as long as the rest of it. That tail is disposable: grab it, and the salamander leaves it thrashing on the ground and sprints away.
Overview
The golden-striped salamander lives in humid forested ravines and rocky streamsides in the wettest parts of north-west Iberia. The body is only 5–6 cm, but the very long tail brings total length to 12–16 cm. It is blackish-bronze with two golden stripes that fuse into one on the tail. It hunts flies, springtails, and spiders in wet moss.
The tail
The tail breaks away easily near the base, and the detached piece thrashes to distract a predator while the salamander escapes and regrows a shorter replacement. The tail also acts as a counterbalance, letting this species run and even leap — fast for a salamander.
A projectile tongue
It has one of the longest tongues relative to its body of any salamander and can fire it to catch flying insects — a hunting method most salamanders do not use.
A lineage of one
It is the only species in its genus, an ancient, distinctive branch of the salamander family, endemic to a small part of Iberia. Like other stream salamanders it has no lungs and breathes through its skin.
Status
The golden-striped salamander is Vulnerable and declining, threatened by drought, wildfire, eucalyptus plantations, and stream pollution that dry and foul the cool, clean ravines it needs.
Golden-striped Salamander: common questions
Why does the golden-striped salamander have such a long tail?
The tail serves two main purposes. First, as a defence — it is so long relative to the body, and breaks away so readily at a weak point near its base, that a predator lunging at the salamander is very likely to end up with only a mouthful of writhing tail while the animal itself gets away. The salamander then regrows a replacement, which is usually shorter and slightly different in appearance. Second, the tail helps with locomotion, acting as a counterbalance and a spring that lets this species run and jump more effectively than most salamanders, which matters for an animal that lives among slippery rocks and fast water.
Is it unusual for a salamander to use its tongue like a frog?
Somewhat. Many salamanders simply grab prey with their jaws or lift it with a sticky tongue at close range. The golden-striped salamander is one of a smaller number that can project the tongue outward at speed to capture prey at a distance, including flying insects, using an elastic launch mechanism. Its tongue is proportionally one of the longest of any salamander. This lets it exploit prey that other stream salamanders cannot reach and fits with its generally more active, agile hunting style.
Why is it Vulnerable?
It lives only in a narrow band of the wettest parts of north-west Iberia and is completely dependent on cool, clean, permanently flowing streams in humid forest, since it breathes through its skin and its larvae need running water for up to two years. That habitat is shrinking and drying. Prolonged droughts and more frequent, intense wildfires damage the ravines directly, large areas of native oak woodland have been replaced by fast-growing eucalyptus that lowers the water table and dries the soil, and stream pollution and channel works remove breeding sites. The scattered populations are also increasingly isolated from one another.
How can you tell it from other Iberian salamanders?
The combination of a very slim, almost lizard-like body, an extraordinarily long tail, quick movements, and two bright golden or copper stripes running down a dark bronze-black back is distinctive and matched by no other European salamander. The fire salamander, which shares some of its range, is much stockier, moves slowly, and is boldly patterned in black and yellow blotches rather than fine stripes. The Iberian ribbed newt is aquatic and flat-bodied. If a salamander in a Galician or Portuguese ravine bolts away like a small snake with a gold-striped back, it is the golden-striped salamander.