Plethodon vandykei
Silhouette: Beth Reinke · PhyloPic
In 3 days ~10% in a week ~20%
Van Dyke's salamander (Plethodon vandykei) is a small woodland salamander in the family Plethodontidae, the lungless salamanders. These animals breathe through their skin and are largely terrestrial. Compared to other salamanders in Plethodon it is relatively stocky with long legs. Usually associated with streams, seepages, and rock outcrops, it is endemic to Washington where it is found in a limited number of small, isolated populations.
Van Dyke's salamander was first described by John Van Denburgh in 1906 from a specimen found in Mount Rainier National Park. The species was named in honor of its collector, Edwin Cooper Van Dyke. The Coeur d'Alene salamander (Plethodon idahoensis) and the Larch Mountain salamander (Plethodon larselli) are its two closest relatives in the region. At one time, all three were thought to be members of the same species until genetic studies concluded that they were distinct species.
Van Dyke's salamander has a relatively stocky body and grows up to 10 cm long. There are parotoid glands behind the eyes, and the feet are broad and slightly webbed. Different color phases are described based on body color, which can be black... Wikipedia →
| # | Park | Country | Daily sighting probability |
|---|---|---|---|
| 1 | Olympic National Park | 🇺🇸 United States |
More parks will be added in future updates.
Rare
Under 5% of wildlife watchers report a Van Dyke's Salamander sighting in Olympic National Park on a given day, based on 23 verified sightings from GBIF citizen-science data from 2019 to 2026. It is the 13th most-seen of the 13 amphibians we can rate there. Over three days the chance rises to about 10%, and over a week to about 20%, if each day is a fresh chance.
August
In that month about 10% of wildlife watchers report a Van Dyke's Salamander in Olympic National Park on a given day, against under 5% in September to July, the lowest months. That is one of Olympic National Park's driest months, with about 45 mm of rain against 370 mm in November.
Between 9 am and noon
Across all the parks we cover, that three-hour window holds the most Van Dyke's Salamander sightings with a recorded time, and nearly all of them come between 6 am and 6 pm: it is a daytime animal.
Only Olympic National Park, in our data
Olympic National Park is the only park on Wallace's Line with enough records to rate Van Dyke's Salamander sightings: under 5% of wildlife watchers there report one on a given day.
GBIF citizen-science records
It is estimated from how often the Van Dyke's Salamander is recorded against all the amphibians logged in Olympic National Park (23 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.
