Chioglossa lusitanica
Silhouette: Francesco Cerini · PhyloPic
In 3 days ~60% in a week ~80%
The gold-striped salamander or golden-striped salamander (Chioglossa lusitanica) is a species of salamander in the family Salamandridae. It is the only species of the genus Chioglossa. It is found in the north-west of Iberia (in Portugal and Spain) at an altitude of up to 1,300 m (4,300 ft). It is threatened by habitat loss.
The gold-striped salamander is a short-legged salamander with protruding eyes and a tail that makes up 2/3 of its total length. It has a smooth upper side with 10-11 coastal grooves which are dark brown to blackish and usually two parallel golden stripes on the back which can sometimes be broken. It is an agile terrestrial amphibian, and is nocturnal. It may shed its tail like a lizard if it feels threatened, and lives for about eight to 10 years. It feeds primarily on invertebrates, using its sticky tongue to catch them. They mate on land with clutches of 12-20 eggs laid between stones in running water or on the walls of caves. The larvae develop in water.
Its natural habitat are moist deciduous forests near streams in mountainous areas... Wikipedia →
| # | Park | Country | Daily sighting probability |
|---|---|---|---|
| 1 | Picos de Europa National Park | 🇪🇸 Spain |
More parks will be added in future updates.
Possible
About 20% of wildlife watchers report a Gold-striped salamander sighting in Picos de Europa National Park on a given day, based on 57 verified sightings from GBIF citizen-science data from 2019 to 2026. It is the 7th most-seen of the 8 amphibians we can rate there. Over three days the chance rises to about 60%, and over a week to about 80%, if each day is a fresh chance.
March, May and October–November
In those months about 40% of wildlife watchers report a Gold-striped salamander in Picos de Europa National Park on a given day, against under 5% in September and December–January, the lowest months.
Between 9 pm and midnight
Across all the parks we cover, that three-hour window holds the most Gold-striped salamander sightings with a recorded time, and about 6 in 10 of them come between 6 pm and 6 am: it is most active around dawn and dusk.
Only Picos de Europa National Park, in our data
Picos de Europa National Park is the only park on Wallace's Line with enough records to rate Gold-striped salamander sightings: about 20% of wildlife watchers there report one on a given day.
Same family: Salamandridae
The closest relatives of the Gold-striped salamander that you can see in Picos de Europa National Park (family Salamandridae, True Salamanders and Newts) are Fire Salamander (about 50%), Alpine Newt (about 50%) and Palmate Newt (about 50%), with each one's daily chance of a sighting.
GBIF citizen-science records
It is estimated from how often the Gold-striped salamander is recorded against all the amphibians logged in Picos de Europa National Park (57 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.
