Nauta Mushroom Tongue Salamander (Bolitoglossa altamazonica), Loreto, Peru

The “Nauta Mushroom Tongue Salamander” (Bolitoglossa altamazonica) was described by Cope in 1874 (Oedipus altamazonicus). There are many salamanders masquerading as this species and it is undoubtedly a species complex across the greater region. These salamanders tend to have a patchy distribution and when you find a good spot for them, it is reliably a good spot year after year; however, we never see more than several in a given night. The flat feet help them climb vertical surfaces and even hang upside down beneath leaves. Most individuals are observed within a couple meters of the forest floor and are shy and retreating, quietly sitting and waiting for an appropriately sized food item to come too close. They have ballistic tongues that they can shoot out of their mouths to a distance of most of the length of their bodies. As an escape behavior, they will often jump – as odd as it sounds with a salamander jumping. They are actually quite good at jumping and can manage to clear the leaf they were resting on and fall to the leaf litter where they are much more difficult to find.