Surprise Sighting Sheds Light on the Lives of Elusive Salamanders

California giant salamanders are notoriously hard to spot in their earliest stages of life. A rare encounter offers clues on how to better protect them.

By Jessica Weinberg McClosky and Michael Reichmuth

About this article

This article was first published online on March 25, 2026, as part of the Picturing the Unseen series.

Recently hatched California giant salamander larvae are rarely seen. Mike Reichmuth spotted these during a chilly snorkel survey of upper Olema Creek in Point Reyes. At first, he thought they were fish. They were beneath rocks in a long, calm pool just over 13 feet wide and two and a half feet deep. NPS / Michael Reichmuth

When you think of snorkeling, you probably imagine the ocean. Someplace warm, where the turquoise water is full of colorful fish and corals. But that’s not where fish biologist Michael Reichmuth usually snorkels. Every summer, Reichmuth braves the cold waters of small, tree-lined creeks in the San Francisco Bay Area’s national parks. He snorkels through them to survey endangered juvenile coho salmon. While he’s at it, he also records other species he sees. Over more than 20 years of surveys, he’s seen a lot.

But on September 10, 2025, he saw something unfamiliar in Point Reyes National Seashore’s Olema Creek. Luckily, he had a camera on him. The image he captured showed something scientists had never photographed before in the wild: a cluster of recently hatched California giant salamander larvae. The scientific name of this elusive creature is Dicamptodon ensatus. This unique occurrence can give park scientists new insights on how to protect giant salamanders.

The image he captured showed something scientists had never photographed before in the wild.

U.S. Geological Survey biologist and amphibian expert Patrick Kleeman confirmed the species. “The location in a small stream known to harbor a population of California giant salamanders makes it the most likely species,” he said. The only other local, long-bodied amphibians are newts. But as Kleeman explained, “their back] patterning would look different than the photo at this life stage.” As for their age, one clue that the larvae had recently hatched is that there were so many of them, so tightly clustered. Another is their large, whitish yolk sacs. These can sustain the larvae [for many months as they learn to find their own food.

California giant salamanders are classified as a species of special concern in the state. The International Union for Conservation of Nature classifies them as near threatened. That has a lot to do with their small range in coastal, central California and amphibians’ sensitivity to environmental change. But it’s also a reflection of how little we know about them. Their population may be declining, but scientists don’t have enough data to be sure. Questions also remain about factors like their distribution, habitat needs, movements, and earliest life stages.

Although Reichmuth and his team had never spotted such young California giant salamander larvae before, they occasionally see juveniles while snorkeling or doing other field work. In spring 2023, they were excited to find this 10-inch adult. NPS

A snorkel survey in Muir Woods National Monument’s Redwood Creek. During surveys, biologists swim (or crawl!) slowly upstream looking for endangered coho salmon. They record other species they see as well. NPS / Jailyn Hoskins (Environment for the Americas)

You might think that one of the biggest terrestrial salamander species in North America—up to a foot long—would be hard to miss. Yet California giant salamanders hardly ever fall into the traps or hide under the boards that scientists put out to catch and study amphibians. So most of what we infer about them comes from observing similar, more widespread coastal giant salamanders (Dicamptodon tenebrosus). Or from chance sightings like the one depicted in this photo.

With so little data, every observation counts.

But according to Kleeman, only a few records of either giant salamander species have ever involved eggs or nests. And the scientific literature contains no observations of wild, recently hatched California giant salamander larvae. “The fact that [Reichmuth] found them at all is interesting because there is so little information about this life stage in this species,” he said.

With so little data, every observation counts. This one photo, along with Reichmuth’s account of where and when he took it, helps us understand giant salamander nesting habitat. It also adds to what we know about things like the real-world timing of their larval development. This information is crucial for giant salamander research and conservation.

How Your Photos Can Help

Other people’s photos can help too! Visitors can’t snorkel in national park creeks, but they may still spot California giant salamanders. All are welcome to contribute their observations to an ongoing California giant salamander inventory.

Acknowledgments

The coho salmon monitoring program, part of the National Park Service’s San Francisco Bay Area Inventory & Monitoring Network serving Golden Gate, Muir Woods, and Point Reyes, made this salamander sighting possible. The program is generously supported by the California Department of Fish & Wildlife, with additional assistance from the parks, Point Reyes National Seashore Association, Golden Gate National Parks Conservancy, Watershed Stewards Program, individual volunteers, and more.

About the authors

Michael Reichmuth is a fishery biologist with the San Francisco Bay Area Inventory & Monitoring Network. Photo credit: NPS / Maritte O'Gallagher.

Republishing this article

This article is available for unedited republication, free of charge. We ask that you use the following credit: Originally published as “Surprise Sighting Sheds Light on the Lives of Elusive Salamanders” on nps.gov, March 25, 2026.

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Cite this article

Weinberg McClosky, Jessica, and Michael Reichmuth. 2026. "Surprise Sighting Sheds Light on the Lives of Elusive Salamanders." National Park Service, March 25, 2026. https://www.nps.gov/articles/000/psv40n1_surprise-sighting-sheds-light-on-the-lives-of-elusive-salamanders.htm

Part of a series of articles titled
Picturing the Unseen.

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