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=Citizen Science: Looking for tiger salamanders in northeastern Washington.=

These pages will contain information about [|tiger salamanders] in northeastern Washington State. The ultimate purpose of this information is to gather sightings to link the distribution of tiger salamanders around Spokane to those in Canada. Currently, a nearly blank spot exists on the map between sightings near Spokane and sightings near Canada.

Tiger salamanders are the largest salamander in our area and only one of two found in northeast Washington. It has squiggly greenish blotches on a black background, including its belly (see photo below). The other salamander, the long-toed salamander, is thinner (but can be as long), has a wide, yellowish stripe along its back, and has no marks on its belly. In this area, tiger salamanders are generally found in the valleys and at lower elevations in Douglas-fir and ponderosa pine forests. Long-toed salamanders generally live at higher elevations in cooler forests.

Adult tiger salamanders are most active above ground in late March and April, often at night and during rains, when they move about to lay their eggs in shallow water in small ponds and lakes. During other times of the year, they primarily reside underground, hunting nearly anything that will fit into their large mouths.

Tiger salamanders are one of the most common and widespread salamanders in North America. They are common near Spokane and occur north of us in Canada, but we don’t have many records from Stevens, Ferry or Pend Oreille counties. Help me connect the dots between Spokane and Canada.


 * If you see a tiger salamander in NE Washington or have any questions, please call Chris Loggers at 509-738-7727 or email me at loggersc@hotmail.com . If you email, please put "tiger salamander" in the subject line. For sighting information, I'll ask the date and location you found it (if you have access to Google Earth, you can go to that and find a coordinate (either lat/long, UTM, etc.), a description including length, a photograph if you can take one, and whether or not you want your name listed as the one who discovered it. Thanks!**

If you want to find out more about reptiles and amphibians in NE Washington, check out the Washington Herp Atlas at http://www1.dnr.wa.gov/nhp/refdesk/herp/herpmain.html

Tiger salamander found at Hofstetter School in Colville (**NOTE! 15 cm is about 6 inches**)

Long-toed salamander