[2][3][4] Previously, it was considered a population of the speckled black salamander (A. flavipunctatus).

However, a 2019 study found A. flavipunctatus to represent a species complex and split multiple species off it, including the Klamath population, which was described as Aneides klamathensis.

[3][5][6] This species inhabits the Klamath Mountains in northern California and southern Oregon.

It ranges from southeast-central Humboldt and Trinity counties in California north to southern Josephine and Jackson counties in Oregon.

[3] This species has a solid black base coloration overlaid by greenish-gray frosting that extends down the trunk.