Torrent Salamanders: Rhyacotritonidae

Torrent salamanders live in densely forested areas near cool water in small, clear, rapidly flowing streams, in rocky areas where water has seeped to the surface, and in cracks in large rocks with thin layers of water cascading over the surface. These habitats almost always are in closed-canopy forests often dominated by coniferous (koh-NIH-fuh-russ) trees, or those that have cones, but some are in river areas dominated by maples and alders, which are deciduous (dih-SIH-juh-wuhs) trees, or those that lose their leaves during cold or dry seasons.