Ambrosis Cave Salamander

Speleomantes ambrosii

 Ambrosis cave salamander (Hydromantes ambrosii, syn .: Speleomantes ambrosii) is a tailed amphibian from the family of the lungless salamander (Plethodontidae). Its distribution area is in Italy.

Adults are about 9 to 12 cm long, with the females being slightly longer than the males. The oval head makes up about one eighth of the total length and the tail almost half of the total length. The body coloring and drawing is variable and can include various shades of brown, gray, ocher and yellow. Often there are lighter spots on the basic color. The belly side is darker than the back side. Many individuals have a partly continuous, partly interrupted light ocher-yellow stripe on the back edges, which is particularly pronounced in animals in the La Spezia area (Hydromantes a. Ambrosii). Adult animals have ear glands (parotids) on each side of the head.

Cave salamanders have no lungs, the necessary gas exchange takes place via the oral cavity and the skin. It is therefore important that the skin is always moist, and the animals need a relative humidity between 80 and 100%.

A distinction between the Ligurian cave salamander and the Italian cave salamander on the basis of external characteristics is very difficult. The easiest way to determine it is via the location.

The species has a small distribution area in northwest Italy, which is divided into two disjoint areas. The distribution is limited to the Italian regions of Tuscany and Liguria, here the species mainly lives in the Apennines near the cities of La Spezia and Massa and occurs from almost sea level to 1730 m above sea level.

The habitat consists of coniferous, deciduous and mixed forests, but also scrubland or sparsely overgrown rocky terrain. The species lives in hiding places in rocks or the ground.

Seasonal activity is concentrated in the period from spring to summer and then again in autumn. The animals are nocturnal and can usually only be found on the surface of the earth during or after rain. During the day they are mostly hidden under stones and in cavities such as crevice systems and caves. In winter they only become active occasionally at higher temperatures and mostly hibernate. The food, consisting of small invertebrates, is preyed on with a quick flung tongue. When the weather conditions are favorable, they are above ground on the ground looking for food or waiting for piles of stones, rocks or walls for prey.

The species is common in its range, but sensitive to human impact due to its small area.

Ambrosi's cave salamander used to be united with the Ligurian cave salamander in one species. Later the species were separated from one another mainly on the basis of genetic data. The name Hydromantes ambrosii was chosen in honor of the Italian historian and archaeologist Augusto Cesare Ambrosi (1919-2003), the discoverer of the species.