Can someone ID this critter, please? I will try to update a more exact location soon.
I am really curious about what this is. I don't have the exact coordinates because there was no cell reception, but it was at a river crossing on Sunset trail between the trailhead and the waterfalls. It shared the stream with several California Newts, but this one looked nothing like them. It was grey with gills and a shorter, more aquatic tail. There were about four that I saw living there.
Saw this amazing creature while hiking on The Coastal Trail in Golden Gate National Parks Conservancy just south of Muir Beach.
Nice big fat giant salamander earning its name. Perhaps 8-9" long.
Giant Salamander at Pt. Reyes National Seashore.
12" or more, on paved road with moderate country traffic. I prodded it with a stick so it would not get run over. It hissed and attacked the stick repeatedly! Fiesty and huge!
Full grown adult (8-10" overall) on trail next to creek at about 7am.
Found in the creek along Cataract Falls Trail on Mt. Tamapais. There were still small gills on the head. Very cool.
Dicamptodon ensatus - If you find one, look but don't touch. Oils, salts, soaps, perfumes, etc. on our hands can be toxic to salamanders because they absorb materials through their skin.
California Giant Salamander - Dicamptodon ensatus
If you find one, look but don't touch. Oils, salts, soaps, perfumes, etc. on our hands can be toxic to salamanders because they absorb materials through their skin.
