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Torrent salamanders
Rhyacotriton variegatus
Scientific classification
Domain:	Eukaryota
Kingdom:	Animalia
Phylum:	Chordata
Class:	Amphibia
Order:	Urodela
Suborder:	Salamandroidea
Family:	Rhyacotritonidae Tihen, 1958
Genus:	Rhyacotriton Dunn, 1920
Species
Rhyacotriton cascadae (blue)  Rhyacotriton kezeri (green)  Rhyacotriton olympicus (red)  Rhyacotriton variegatus (yellow)

The torrent salamanders or Cascade salamanders are a family of salamanders (Rhyacotritonidae) with only one genus, Rhyacotriton. The torrent salamanders have highly reduced lungs and are endemic to the United States in the Pacific Northwest (including northwestern California).^[1][2]

Species

The genus Rhyacotriton includes four species:

• Cascade torrent salamander (R. cascadae)
• Columbia torrent salamander (R. kezeri)
• Olympic torrent salamander (R. olympicus)
• Southern torrent salamander (R. variegatus)

Taxonomy

Originally the genus Rhyacotriton was placed in the family Ambystomatidae, later in the family Dicamptodontidae, and finally in 1992 it was placed into a family of its own. At the same time the only species Rhyacotriton olympicus was split into four species due to genetic analysis.

References