Red: Range in California
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| Adult, Fresno County |
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| Adult, Fresno County |
Adult, Fresno County |
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| Adult, Fresno County |
Adult, Fresno County |
Adult, Fresno County |
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| Adult, Fresno County © Ryan Sikola |
Adult, Fresno County © Ryan Sikola |
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Adult, Fresno County |
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| Comparisons with similar sympatric and allopatric slender salamanders. |
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Left: B. kawia - Sequoia Slender Salamander
Right: B. regius
There are no noticeable size differences in body, head, feet, or toes.
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Left: B. diabolicus - Hell Hollow Slender Salamander
Right: B. regius
There are no noticeable size differences in body, head, feet, or toes. |
Bottom: B. gregarius - Gregarious Slender Salamander
Top: B. regius
B. gregarius has a slimmer body with proportionally smaller feet and toes. |
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| Habitat |
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| Habitat, 1,100 ft., Fresno County |
Habitat, 1,100 ft., Fresno County |
Habitat, Kings River, Fresno County
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| Habitat, Kings River, Fresno County |
Habitat, Kings River, Fresno County
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| Short Video |
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A Kings River slender salamander found under a rock sits still then races into a hole with the typical frantic springing back and forth movement of a slender salamander in a hurry. |
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| Description |
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| Size |
Adults are 1 1/4 - 1 3/8 inches long (3.2 - 3.5 cm) from snout to vent.
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| Appearance |
A small slim salamander with 18-19 costal grooves.
Short limbs, a long slender body with a narrow head and a long tail, and conspicuous costal and caudal grooves give this species the worm-like appearance typical of most Slender Salamanders.
The head is relatively broad for a slender salamander with a distinct neck.
There are four toes on the front and hind feet, which is also typical of Slender Salamanders.
(Other California salamanders have five toes on the hind feet.)
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| Color and Pattern |
Color is blackish above with little pattern. A dorsal stripe is usually present, but it may be so close to the dorsal coloring that it is not apparent. Sometimes the stripe is broad and light brown to tan. The venter is a gray that is much lighter than other coloring. Many faded white spots on the back and sides.
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| Comparison with Sympatric Slender Salamanders |
Occurs in sympatry in some locations with B. gregarius.
B. gregarius has a narrower head and shorter limbs.
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| Life History and Behavior |
A member of family Plethodontidae, the Plethodontid or Lungless Salamanders.
Plethodontid salamanders do not breathe through lungs. They conduct respiration through their skin and the tissues lining their mouth. This requires them to live in damp environments on land and to move about on the ground only during times of high humidity. (Plethodontid salamanders native to California do not inhabit streams or bodies of water but they are capable of surviving for a short time if they fall into water.)
Plethodontid salamanders are also distinguished by their naso-labial grooves, which are vertical slits between the nostrils and upper lip that are lined with glands associated with chemoreception.
All Plethodontid Salamanders native to California lay eggs in moist places on land.
The young develop in the egg and hatch directly into a tiny terrestrial salamander with the same body form as an adult.
(They do not hatch in the water and begin their lives as tiny swimming larvae breathing through gills like some other types of salamanders.) |
| Activity |
Little is known about this species.
Most Slender Salamander species are active on rainy or wet nights when temperatures are moderate, fall through spring, retreating underground when the soil dries or when air temperature drops to near freezing.
At higher elevations, activity may be restricted to spring and early summer and early fall.
Found under rocks, logs, bark, and other debris.
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| Defense |
Slender salamanders use several defense tactics, including:
- Coiling and remaining still, relying on cryptic coloring to avoid detection.
- Uncoiling quickly and springing away repeatedly bouncing over the ground, then remaining still again to avoid detection.
- Detaching the tail, which wriggles on the ground to distract a predator from the salamander long enough for it to escape.
(After its tail is detached or severed, the salamander will grow a new tail.) |
| Diet and Feeding |
Most likely eats a variety of small invertebrates.
Feeding behavior is not well known, but other Batrachoseps species are sit-and-wait predators that use a projectile tongue to catch prey. |
| Reproduction |
Little is known about the breeding behavior of this species.
Reproduction is terrestrial.
Breeding and egg-laying probably occurs during the rainy period from November to January.
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| Eggs |
| All species of Slender Salamanders lay eggs, typically in moist places on land. |
| Young |
Young develop completely in the egg and hatch fully formed.
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| Habitat |
Inhabits shaded areas of mixed chaparral, oak, and pines. Salamanders have been found in talus, under rocks, under downed logs, and in leaf litter.
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| Geographical Range |
Endemic to California. Found on the western slopes of the Sierra Nevada in Fresno County on the south and east sides of the North Fork of the the Kings River, and from Summit Meadow in the drainage of the South Fork of the Kings River.
Also found on the middle fork of the Kaweah River drainage in Tulare County. |
| Elevational Range |
At elevations of 1,100 ft.- 8,100 ft. (335 - 2,470 m).
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| Notes on Taxonomy |
Prior to its description in 1998, B. regius was identified as B. relictus. B. relictus was partitioned into four species -
B. diabolicus,
B. regius,
B. kawia and
B. relictus.
Here's a Diagram of the Batrachoseps Complex showing the relationships between species.
Alternate and Previous Names (Synonyms)
Batrachoseps regius - Kings River Slender Salamander (Jockusch, Wake, Yanev 1998, Stebbins 2003, 2012)
Batrachoseps pacificus - Pacific Slender Salamander (Stebbins 1985)
Batrachoseps attenuatus - California Slender Salamander (Stebbins 1954, 1966)
Batrachoseps attenuatus attenuatus - Worm-salamander (Bishop 1943)
Batrachoseps attenuatus - Slender Salamander (Storer 1925)
Batrachoseps nigriventris (Cope 1869)
Batrachoseps attenuatus (Cooper 1868)
Batrachoseps attenuata (Baird 1850)
Salamandrina attenuata (Eschscholtz 1833)
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| Conservation Issues (Conservation Status) |
| Listed as vulnerable or imperiled, probably due to it's limited habitat at high altitudes where amphibians are generally imperiled. |
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| Taxonomy |
| Family |
Plethodontidae |
Lungless Salamanders |
Gray, 1850 |
| Genus |
Batrachoseps |
Slender Salamanders |
Bonaparte, 1841 |
Species
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regius |
Kings River Slender Salamander |
Jockusch, Wake & Yanev, 1998 |
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Original Description |
Jockusch, E. L., D. B. Wake, and K. P. Yanev. "New species of slender salamanders, Batrachoseps
(Amphibia: Plethodontidae), from the Sierra Nevada of California." Contributions in Science, Natural History
Museum of Los Angeles County, #472 1998.
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Meaning of the Scientific Name |
Batrachoseps: Greek - amphibian, frog lizard - describes lizard-like appearance.
regius: Latin - king, in reference to the region of the Kings River, the type locality.
from Scientific and Common Names of the Reptiles and Amphibians of North America - Explained © Ellin Beltz
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Similar Neighboring Salamanders |
B. gregarius
B. relictus
B. kawia
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More Information and References |
California Department of Fish and Wildlife
AmphibiaWeb
Jockusch, E. L., D. B. Wake, and K. P. Yanev. "New species of slender salamanders, Batrachoseps (Amphibia: Plethodontidae), from the Sierra Nevada of California." Contributions in Science, Natural History Museum of Los Angeles County, #472 1998.
Hansen, Robert W. and Shedd, Jackson D. California Amphibians and Reptiles. (Princeton Field Guides.) Princeton University Press, 2025.
Stebbins, Robert C., and McGinnis, Samuel M. Field Guide to Amphibians and Reptiles of California: Revised Edition (California Natural History Guides) University of California Press, 2012.
Stebbins, Robert C. California Amphibians and Reptiles. The University of California Press, 1972.
Flaxington, William C. Amphibians and Reptiles of California: Field Observations, Distribution, and Natural History. Fieldnotes Press, Anaheim, California, 2021.
Samuel M. McGinnis and Robert C. Stebbins. Peterson Field Guide to Western Reptiles & Amphibians. 4th Edition. Houghton Mifflin Harcourt Publishing Company, 2018.
Stebbins, Robert C. A Field Guide to Western Reptiles and Amphibians. 3rd Edition. Houghton Mifflin Company, 2003.
Behler, John L., and F. Wayne King. The Audubon Society Field Guide to North American Reptiles and Amphibians. Alfred A. Knopf, 1992.
Powell, Robert., Joseph T. Collins, and Errol D. Hooper Jr. A Key to Amphibians and Reptiles of the Continental United States and Canada. The University Press of Kansas, 1998.
American Museum of Natural History - Amphibian Species of the World 6.2
Bartlett, R. D. & Patricia P. Bartlett. Guide and Reference to the Amphibians of Western North America (North of Mexico) and Hawaii. University Press of Florida, 2009.
Bishop, Sherman C. Handbook of Salamanders. Cornell University Press, 1943.
Lannoo, Michael (Editor). Amphibian Declines: The Conservation Status of United States Species. University of California Press, June 2005.
Petranka, James W. Salamanders of the United States and Canada. Smithsonian Institution, 1998.
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The following conservation status listings for this animal are taken from the April 2024 State of California Special Animals List and the April 2024 Federally Listed Endangered and Threatened Animals of California list (unless indicated otherwise below.) Both lists are produced by multiple agencies every year, and sometimes more than once per year, so the conservation status listing information found below might not be from the most recent lists. To make sure you are seeing the most recent listings, go to this California Department of Fish and Wildlife web page where you can search for and download both lists:
https://www.wildlife.ca.gov/Data/CNDDB/Plants-and-Animals.
A detailed explanation of the meaning of the status listing symbols can be found at the beginning of the two lists. For quick reference, I have included them on my Special Status Information page.
If no status is listed here, the animal is not included on either list. This most likely indicates that there are no serious conservation concerns for the animal. To find out more about an animal's status you can also go to the NatureServe and IUCN websites to check their rankings.
Check the current California Department of Fish and Wildlife sport fishing regulations to find out if this animal can be legally pursued and handled or collected with possession of a current fishing license. You can also look at the summary of the sport fishing regulations as they apply only to reptiles and amphibians that has been made for this website.
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Status Listing |
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| NatureServe Global Ranking |
G2G3 |
Imperiled-Vulnerable |
| NatureServe State Ranking |
S2S3 |
Imperiled - Vulnerable |
| U.S. Endangered Species Act (ESA) |
None |
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| California Endangered Species Act (CESA) |
None |
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| California Department of Fish and Wildlife |
None |
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| Bureau of Land Management |
None |
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| USDA Forest Service |
S |
Sensitive |
| IUCN |
VU |
Vulnerable |
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