Cope's Giant Salamander

Where they live

• View a map of where they live.
• Cope's Giant Salamanders are only found in the Pacific Northwest. In Washington State they are found in the Olympic and the Cascade Mountains and Willapa Hills of southern Washington
• Prefer clear, cold mountain streams in damp forests.
• They spend most days under rocks in the streams, but move about openly on the stream bottom in the evenings.

Breeding

• Eggs are laid is spring and fall under rocks or logs in streams in hidden spots and are protected by the female.
• Eggs are white and laid one at a time and attached to the wall of the nest site. Eggs can take up to 200 days before hatching.

Cool Biology Facts

• Cope's Giant Salamanders usually mature and reproduce almost entirely in their aquatic form without metamorphosing into terrestrial adults. This is called paedomorphosis or neoteny.
• This happens because most individuals do not respond to the hormones that normally would trigger metamorphosis in other salamanders.
• In lab studies, thyroid treatments have shown to trigger metamorphosis.

Threats

• Main threats include habitat destruction from logging and habitat loss. View their status on the IUCN Red List of Threatened Species.