246 Salamanders vs Volcanoes

About this episode

This episode explores the evolutionary history of the cascade torrent salamander and discusses newly described frogs from Ecuador.

This week we delve into the evolutionary history of a fascinating little salamander from North America: the cascade torrent salamander. Volcanoes and flooding have shaped this species' history over the last 15 million years, but they remain steadfast. Then we chat about some newly described frogs from Ecuador. Become a Patreon: https://www.patreon.com/herphighlights Merch: https://www.redbubble.com/people/herphighlights/shop Full reference list available here: http://www.herphighlights.podbean.com Main Paper References: Cousins CD, Olson DH, Millward LS, Adams MJ, Pearl CA, Rowe JC, Garcia TS. 2026. Genomics Reveals Extensive Population Structure and Undescribed Phylogenetic Relationships in the Cascade Torrent Salamander ( Rhyacotriton cascadae ). Journal of Biogeography 53:e70167. DOI: 10.1111/jbi.70167. Falcão BB, São Pedro VA, Entiauspe‐Neto OM. 2026. Occurrence and evolution of cannibal behaviour in extant snakes. Biological Reviews 101:644–664. DOI: 10.1111/brv.70097. Song Z, Griesser M, Schuppli C, Van Schaik CP. 2023. Does the expensive brain hypothesis apply to amphibians and reptiles? BMC Ecology and Evolution 23:77. DOI: 10.1186/s12862-023-02188-w. Species of the…

People in this episode

Host: Herpetological Highlights

Topics covered

• evolutionary history
• salamanders
• volcanoes
• flooding
• frogs
• North America
• Ecuador

Keywords

• salamander
• cascade torrent salamander
• volcanoes
• Ecuador
• evolution
• amphibians
• flooding
• genomics

Mentioned in this episode

Books & works: Journal of Biogeography, Biological Reviews, BMC Ecology and Evolution, PeerJ

Places: North America, Ecuador

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