Speleomantes strinatii
Silhouette: C. Camilo Julián-Caballero · PhyloPic
In 3 days ~90% in a week >90%
Speleomantes strinatii, the French cave salamander, North-west Italian cave salamander, or Strinati's cave salamander is a small (10–12.5 cm (3.9–4.9 in) long) species of salamander found in northwest Italy and southeast France. It is very similar in appearance to the Italian cave salamander (Speleomantes italicus), but has a paler belly.
S. strinatii is a completely terrestrial plethodontid, meaning that they are a fully land-based species. S. strinatii is one of seven species of plethodontid salamanders found in southern Europe. S. strinatii can vary widely in size. S. strinatii is highly sexually dimorphic. Male S. strinatii average about 96 millimetres (3.8 in) in length, and can grow to up to 116 mm (4.6 in) long. Females average about 100 millimetres (3.9 in) and have been observed at a maximum length of 123 mm (4.8 in). S. strinatii have an oval-shaped head, a rounded snout, and a slight overbite that is more pronounced in males. S. strinatii's hind limbs are slightly longer than their front limbs. The salamanders' hind feet have five digits each, and their front feet only have four digits. The S. strinatii also have highly variable coloration and patterns.... Wikipedia →
| # | Park | Country | Daily sighting probability |
|---|---|---|---|
| 1 | Mercantour National Park | 🇫🇷 France |
More parks will be added in future updates.
Likely
About 60% of wildlife watchers report a French Cave Salamander sighting in Mercantour National Park on a given day, based on 832 verified sightings from GBIF citizen-science data from 2019 to 2026. It is the 2nd most-seen of the 5 amphibians we can rate there. Over three days the chance rises to about 90%, and over a week to over 90%, if each day is a fresh chance.
March, May and November
In those months about 80% of wildlife watchers report a French Cave Salamander in Mercantour National Park on a given day, against about 30% in July, the lowest month.
Between 3 and 6 pm
Across all the parks we cover, that three-hour window holds the most French Cave Salamander sightings with a recorded time, and about 8 in 10 of them come between 6 am and 6 pm: it is a daytime animal.
Only Mercantour National Park, in our data
Mercantour National Park is the only park on Wallace's Line with enough records to rate French Cave Salamander sightings: about 60% of wildlife watchers there report one on a given day.
GBIF citizen-science records
It is estimated from how often the French Cave Salamander is recorded against all the amphibians logged in Mercantour National Park (832 verified sightings from 2019 to 2026), calibrated against known sighting rates. Figures are rounded to the nearest 10% because citizen-science data supports honest approximations, not decimals, and months with records from fewer than five people show "—". How it works.
