The Sardinian Brook Salamander is a montane species of permanent and temporary stagnant and running waters, that prefers calm areas of small or large rivers. Its terrestrial habitats are generally restricted to riverine scrub or woodland, and the species may also be found in cave systems. Its breeding sites are permanent pools, water holes, small lakes and streams. The eggs are deposited between stones or are buried in sand; the larvae develop in the streams (Griffiths 1996, Rimpp 1998). The species is quite adaptable and can be found in artificial pools.

This species is endemic to Sardinia, Italy (Gasc et al. 1997, Arnold 2003), where it is mostly found in the eastern part of the island between the Limbara Mountains in the north and the Sette Fratelli Mountains in the south. There are some historical records from western Sardinia (Lecis and Norris 2003a,b; Lecis and Norris 2014; Vignoli et al. 2016), however, there are no recent records from this part of southwestern Sardinia (Corti et al. submitted 2022; G. Sotgiu pers. comm. November 2022), and it is considered possibly extinct here. Further information is needed on the range of the species in the southwest of the island; there are anecdotal records from Iglesiente (Vignoli et al. 2016), but they have not been included in this assessment until further work has been carried out to verify that they belong to this species. It is not thought to occur much more widely. It has been recorded between 50–1,800 m asl, although it is most often found between 400–800 m asl. It occurs in five or fewer threat-defined locations, its extent of occurrence (EOO) is 10,609 km², and its confirmed area of occupancy (AOO) (Vignoli et al. 2016) is less than 500 km² (408 km²).

Conservation Actions In-Place
This species is listed on Appendix II of the Bern Convention and on Annex IV of the EU Natural Habitats Directive. The species is protected by regional legislation (Regional Law n. 23/1998 (art. 5, c. 3)). The Gola di Gorroppu has been designated as a Site of Community Importance under the Habitats Directive. In addition, a number of subpopulations live in established and planned protected areas, including Parco Regionale Sette Fratelli, Parco Nazionale Gennargentu-Golfo di Orosei, and Parco Regionale Monte Limbara.

The development of a citizen science project is also underway to help with the monitoring of amphibian species in Italy (F. Ficetola and R. Manenti pers. comm. September 2019). Furthermore, monitoring of all Natura 2000 sites and species is ongoing in Italy, including this species (F. Ficetola and R. Manenti pers. comm. September 2019). A reintroduction project is in place, where 30 individuals born in captivity at the Fondazione Bioparco di Roma as part of a project funded and sponsored by EAZA and Amphibian ARK (Tapley et al. 2015) were reintroduced in 2019 at a location in the Sette Fratelli (CA) area where the species was known until the late 1990s (L. Vignoli pers. comm. October 2022). The reintroduced individuals reproduced in 2020. All animals were screened for known diseases (F. Ficetola pers. comm. October 2022).

Conservation Needed
Programmes to monitor diseases, and remove trout and other alien species from the species' habitat would assist in the recovery of subpopulations (G. Tessa pers. comm. September 2019). There is also an urgent need for an EU (European Union) wide coordinated approach and implementation of the Bsal Action Plan by Gilbert et al. (2020), which was commissioned by the European Commission.

Research Needed
If an outbreak of Bsal was to occur within this species' range, population monitoring would need to be carried out immediately and this species would need to be reassessed. Long-term monitoring of subpopulations is necessary to avoid future population decline, particularly to set a baseline against potential disease introduction (F. Ficetola pers. comm. October 2022).