The Mount Lyell Salamander is a small, elusive amphibian that calls California’s high Sierra Nevada mountains home. What makes this salamander stand out? It’s a member of a rare group known as lungless salamanders — it actually breathes through its skin and the lining of its mouth! And if that’s not cool enough, it’s also one of the very few salamanders that can live at elevations over 10,000 feet.
Size & Physical Appearance
Mount Lyell Salamanders are on the smaller side, typically measuring between 1.5 to 2.5 inches in length from snout to vent, with total lengths including the tail around 3.5 to 5 inches.
They have a flattened body and head, which helps them squeeze into tight rock crevices. Their coloring blends beautifully with their granite surroundings — gray to brown or reddish-brown skin often patterned with speckles or mottling. This camo makes them tough to spot unless you’re really looking.
Males are generally similar in appearance to females, with only subtle differences. Juveniles look like miniature adults, though they may be paler and their patterns less distinct.
Habitat and Range
These salamanders are true mountain dwellers, found only in a limited range in the Sierra Nevada, particularly around Mount Lyell and Tuolumne Meadows within Yosemite National Park and nearby areas.
They live at high elevations — from about 6,000 to over 10,000 feet — making them one of the highest-altitude salamanders in North America.
You’ll find them around talus slopes, rocky outcrops, and granite crevices where it stays moist and cool, even during warm summer days. They’re often hidden during the day and most active at night or during cool, damp conditions.
Diet
Mount Lyell Salamanders are insectivores, feeding on a variety of tiny invertebrates they can catch in their rocky environment. They eat ants, spiders, mites, beetles, and other small insects and arthropods.
One especially interesting thing? They’re part of a family of salamanders that have an exceptionally fast tongue projection. Basically, they can shoot their sticky tongue out in a flash to snag prey, kind of like a chameleon — impressive for such a little creature.
Lifespan
In the wild, their lifespan isn’t well documented due to their remote habitat and secretive lifestyle — but like many small salamanders, they likely live around 6 to 10 years. In captivity, they could live a bit longer, though exact data is limited since they’re not commonly kept as pets or studied in controlled settings.
Identification Tips
Because of their limited range, if you’re in Yosemite or near Mount Lyell at high elevations and see a tiny, brown-gray salamander in a granite crevice, it’s probably this species. To help tell them apart from similar species:
- Unlike the similarly shaped California Slender Salamander, Mount Lyell Salamanders have broader heads and toes.
- They belong to the genus Hydromantes, which means they have partially webbed toes and are more adapted to rocky, alpine environments.
- No lungs — if you’re in an area that a Hydromantes species is known to inhabit and you find a salamander that fits the look and can cling to rocky walls, it’s likely this one.
Fun Fact
This salamander doesn’t have lungs. Seriously — it gets all its oxygen by absorbing it through its skin and mouth lining. That might sound risky, but for animals in moist, cool environments, it works surprisingly well. The lungless trick also helps it stay flatter, which is perfect for squeezing into small, damp rock cracks high in the mountains.
And here’s a bonus weird fact: it can maneuver backward just as easily as forward — a rare skill among amphibians!
Want to try spotting one? Bring your patience and a flashlight and search crevices gently in Yosemite’s high elevations after wet summer afternoons. Just do it carefully — these guys are special, and the rocks they live in are fragile ecosystems. Take only photos, not salamanders!