Subspecies
- Salamandra atra atra, fully melanistic (black) subspecies from Central, Eastern and Dinaric Alps
- S. a. aurorae, the Golden Alpine Salamander is classified as being Critically Endangered on the IUCN Red List 2002. This subspecies has golden or yellow spots on its back and lives in a small area in Venetian prealps near Asiago.
- S. a. pasubiensis, with less yellow spots than aurorae lives in a different part of Venetian prealps (Pasubio massif).
- S. a. prenjensis lives on Prenj mountain, part of Dinaric Alps in Bosnia and Herzegovina. Validity of this subspecies is yet to be confirmed.
Genetic analysis suggests that Salamandra corsica is the closest related species and that black-yellow coloration is an ancestral feature of Alpine salamanders. Proposed colonization from south (Prealps) to Alps was carried out by fully melanistic (derived feature) S. a. atra after the last retreat of the ice sheets.
Read more about this topic: Alpine Salamander