THE CENTER FOR NORTH AMERICAN HERPETOLOGY


Amphibia    Caudata    Rhyacotritonidae  

Columbia Torrent Salamander
Rhyacotriton kezeri Good and Wake, 1992
RY-ah-koh-TRI-ton — KEH-zehr-eye

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: 2023.04.10.09.45.12)
Download GeoJSON polygon range file: - 0.36 MB

Province/State Distribution:
United States: Oregon Washington

Taxonomic Etymology:
Named in honor of a Pacific Northwest zoologist.
Rhyacotriton — From Greek rhyax (ῥυάξ), meaning “torrent” or “stream,” and triton (Τρίτων), the name of a Greek sea god often used in salamander nomenclature. The name means “torrent triton,” referring to the species’ preference for cold, fast-flowing mountain streams.
kezeri — A patronym honoring James Kezer (1908-2002), a herpetologist associated with the University of Oregon, recognized for his pioneering work on the cytogenetics of salamanders and has long been a prominent student of the amphibians of the Pacific Northwest.

First instance(s) of published English names:
Mountain Salamander (Rhyacotriton olympicus: 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:
1920 Dunn, Emmett R. Notes on two Pacific Coast Ambystomidae. Proceedings of the New England Zoölogical Club. Cambridge, Massachusetts 7:55–59
1968 Anderson, James D. Rhyacotriton and R. olympicus. Catalogue of American Amphibians and Reptiles (68):1-2
1992 Good, David A., and David B. Wake. Geographic variation and speciation in the torrent salamanders of the genus Rhyacotriton (Caudata: Rhyacotritonidae). University of California Publications in Zoology 126:1–91
2006 Wagner, R. Steven, Mark P. Miller, and Susan M. Haig. Phylogeography and genetic identification of newly-discovered populations of Torrent Salamanders (Rhyacotriton cascadae and R variegatus) in the central cascades (USA). Herpetologica 62(1):63-70

THE CENTER FOR NORTH AMERICAN HERPETOLOGY — Accessed: Friday 05 December 2025 15:56 CT