Tico Mushroomtongue Salamander

The Tico salamander is a moderately-sized, slender, and large-headed species with long limbs. The standard length ranges from 37.7 to 59.7 mm in males and 41.3 to 53.9 in females. The long and thin tails are generally longer than the body. The dorsum is mostly reddish-brown, while the tail is darker. There is a brownish-red stripe along middle of the back that starts at the shoulder and ends at the middle of the body. The snout and pre-ocular region are pale tan with a gold-grey iris. The underside of the body is dark black, with a slightly lighter throat. There are white speckles focussed around the pelvis. Larger specimens seem to be darker, with darker undersides flecked with small white patches and nearly blackish uppersides. Some specimens also have faint reddish-brown stripes from the shoulders to the middle of the body and gray-gold irises.

The Tico salamander is endemic to central Costa Rica, where it has been recorded in the Cordillera de Talamanca and Cerros de Escazú. In the northern slopes of the Cordillera de Talamanca, the salamander inhabits elevations of 2200–2500 m, while in the Cerros de Escazú, it is found lower down to 1745 m. The areas inhabited by the species get 1825–2300 mm of rain annually, with an average annual temperature of 12–15 ºC. The Tico salamander is rather arboreal, often being seen 15 cm to 3 m high on Lycopodiaceae ferns and other vegetation at night. It is also seen in bromeliads, under leaf litter, in stumps or rotting logs, and on road banks. The area where the holotype was collected in the Cordillera de Talamanca is a transition zone between lower montane rainforest and subtropical montane rainforest or subtropical cloud forest. The species is rather fast and energetic in its behavior.