biology

Jackson's climbing salamander

Jackson's climbing salamander is a biology topic covered in the lgStudy science library. This page brings together a partial reference excerpt, illustrations, worked examples, real-world applications and a short study plan, so you can understand Jackson's climbing salamander rather than just read about it. In short: Jackson's climbing salamander (Bolitoglossa jacksoni) is a species of salamander in the family Plethodontidae. It is endemic to Guatemala.

Key takeaways

Jackson's climbing salamander belongs to biology; place it in that map before memorising details.
Learn the definition first, then one example that makes the definition concrete.
Connect Jackson's climbing salamander to a quantity you can measure, compute or draw — that is where exam questions come from.
Reproduce the core statement of Jackson's climbing salamander from memory before moving on to harder problems.

Reference excerpt

Jackson's climbing salamander (Bolitoglossa jacksoni) is a species of salamander in the family Plethodontidae. It is endemic to Guatemala. Its natural habitat is subtropical or tropical moist montane forests. It is threatened by habitat loss. The salamander is among the 25 "most wanted lost" species that are the focus of Global Wildlife Conservation's "Search for Lost Species" initiative, as it had not been seen since 1975. It was rediscovered in 2017 at an amphibian reserve in the Sierra de los Cuchumatanes.

Appearance Females of the species grow up to 65 mm long and are a bright yellow with a dorsal, chocolate brown band and a thin white stripe running between the brown band and the yellow. The brown band generally runs across the middle of the entire body and a very large part of the tail. The species has suckers on its fingers so it can climb trees. The eyes are also yellow in color.

Habitat Because Jackson's climbing salamander has only been observed three times, its habitat is not fully known. According to the IUCN, the species occurs in a very limited area, approximately 12 km north-northeast of Santa Cruz Barillas. The juvenile male was photographed more than 300 meters higher than the altitude at which scientists had thought the species would occur (approximately 1400 meters.

Expeditions The species was discovered by Jeremy Jackson and Paul Elias during a 1972 expedition. During this expedition the species Bradytriton silus and Nyctanolis pernix were also discovered. All three species were only found again after 2009. Bradytriton silus was seen again in 2009, Nyctanolis pernix in 2010 and Bolitoglossa jacksoni only again in 2017. This species is among the previous 25 "most wanted missing" species on Re:wild's previous "lost species" list. This is because has only been observed up to and including 2017. Two individuals have been captured. Of these, only the holotype of the species, a young adult female, has been preserved. The older female was captivity at the Museum of Vertebrate Zoology, University of California - Berkeley. She eventually, possibly, escaped, or was stolen from the museum. The most recent discovery may be a juvenile male.

References

External links Data related to Bolitoglossa jacksoni at Wikispecies

Worked examples

Example 1 — a first encounter with Jackson's climbing salamander

Start with the simplest possible case. Write down what Jackson's climbing salamander claims or describes in one sentence, then invent the smallest concrete situation in which that sentence is true. In biology, the smallest case is usually a single object, a single equation or a single measurement. Check that every symbol or term in your sentence has a meaning in that case.

Example 2 — changing one variable

Take the situation from Example 1 and change exactly one quantity: double it, halve it, or set it to zero. Predict what should happen to Jackson's climbing salamander before you calculate. Comparing your prediction with the result is the fastest way to find out whether you understand the idea or only the words.

Example 3 — an exam-style question

Typical questions about Jackson's climbing salamander ask you to (a) state it precisely, (b) apply it to given data, and (c) explain a limitation. Practise writing all three answers in under five minutes; the third part is what separates a full-mark answer from an average one.

Applications of Jackson's climbing salamander

In research: Jackson's climbing salamander appears in biology research whenever the underlying quantities have to be modelled precisely. Papers usually cite it as a starting assumption and then explore where it breaks down.
In technology and industry: Engineering practice reuses Jackson's climbing salamander in design rules, simulations and safety margins. Knowing the idea lets you read a specification sheet and understand why the numbers look the way they do.
In the classroom: Jackson's climbing salamander is common in secondary-school and first-year university syllabi. It links to neighbouring topics Amphibians described in 1984, Amphibians of Guatemala, Arboreal amphibians, so understanding it makes those chapters shorter.
In everyday life: Look for Jackson's climbing salamander outside the textbook — in sport, cooking, traffic, electronics or the sky above you. An example you found yourself is remembered far longer than one you were given.

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How to study Jackson's climbing salamander in 20 minutes

Read the reference excerpt below once, without taking notes.
Close the page and write down what Jackson's climbing salamander means in your own words.
Compare your version with the excerpt and mark what you missed.
Work through the three examples above with pen and paper.
Explain Jackson's climbing salamander out loud to somebody else — or to Teacher Smith in the lgStudy chat.

Frequently asked questions

What is Jackson's climbing salamander in simple terms?

Jackson's climbing salamander (Bolitoglossa jacksoni) is a species of salamander in the family Plethodontidae. It is endemic to Guatemala.

Why does Jackson's climbing salamander matter?

Because it connects several biology ideas at once: it gives you a definition you can apply, a quantity you can calculate, and a way to check whether a result is plausible.

How should I study Jackson's climbing salamander?

Read the excerpt, restate it from memory, then work through the examples and applications listed on this page. The five-step study plan above takes about twenty minutes.

What does this page cover?

It gives you a compact reference excerpt plus original lgStudy explanations, examples, applications and study material on Jackson's climbing salamander.