THE CENTER FOR NORTH AMERICAN HERPETOLOGY

Amphibia    Caudata    Ambystomatidae  

Idaho Giant Salamander
Dicamptodon aterrimus (Cope, 1868)
DI-kamp-toh-don — ah-TAIR-ih-mus

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: 2023.10.03.08.44.24)
Download GeoJSON polygon range file: - 0.11 MB

Province/State Distribution:
United States: Idaho Montana

Taxonomic Etymology:
A giant salamander with exceptionally dark, almost black coloration.
Dicamptodon — From Greek di- (“two”), kamptos (καμπτός), “bent” or “flexed,” and odous/odontos (ὀδούς), “tooth.” The name likely refers to a characteristic of the dentition, such as the two types or positions of teeth.
aterrimus — From Latin ater, “black,” with the superlative suffix -rimus, meaning “very black” or “deep black.” Refers to the species’ nearly black, melanistic coloration.

First instance(s) of published English names:
Rocky Mountain Salamander (Amblystoma aterrimum: 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); Pacific Giant Salamander (Dicamptodon ensatus: Schmidt, Karl P. 1953. A Check List of North American Amphibians and Reptiles. 6th Edition. University of Chicago Press, Chicago, Illinois. 280pp.);

Taxon Links:

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

Selected References:
1969 Anderson, James D. Dicamptodon and D. ensatus. Catalogue of American Amphibians and Reptiles (76):1-2
2006 Steele, Craig A. Speciation, phylogeography, and gene flow in Giant Salamanders (Dicamptodon). Dissertation. Washington State University, Pullman?, Washington. 137pp.

THE CENTER FOR NORTH AMERICAN HERPETOLOGY — Accessed: Friday 05 December 2025 16:59 CT