About Ambystoma rosaceum Taylor, 1941
The Tarhumara salamander (Ambystoma rosaceum Taylor, 1941) is a medium-sized salamander. Its maximum snout to vent length is approximately 80 mm (3.1 in), with an average tail length of about 73 mm (2.9 in). Females have longer bodies and shorter tails than males. Newly-hatched larvae are uniformly brownish-black, while older larvae develop rows of yellow and black mottling. Most terrestrial adults have large yellow spots or streaks on a dark background, though some adults have plain coloration. Some individual Tarhumara salamanders are paedomorphic: they do not complete metamorphosis into the terrestrial adult form, and instead remain as aquatic, gilled paedomorphs. Paedomorphosis occurs most often in montane streams and ponds. This species is endemic to Mexico, where it lives in the Sierra Madre Occidental mountain range at elevations between 1,675 to 3,100 metres (5,495 to 10,171 ft) above sea level. It can also be found in parts of Arizona, specifically in the Huachuca Mountains within the Coronado National Forest, where the species is threatened by a border barrier. It is an adaptable species that generally inhabits pine and pine-oak forests near small, slow-moving streams, springs, or ponds. It can also be found in thornscrub and tropical deciduous forest in some locations, as well as on farms and ranches, where it sometimes breeds in cattle ponds.
