Range in California: Red
Range Map of Southern Sierra
Nevada Slender Salamanders
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Adult, 7,200 ft., Tulare County |
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Adult, 7,200 ft., Tulare County |
Juvenile, 6,500 ft., Tulare County |
Adult, 7,200 ft., Tulare County |
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Adult, Tulare County |
Adult, Tulare County |
Adult, Tulare County |
Habitat |
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Same habitat with vegetation
destroyed by fire with salamanders still persisting along the stream. |
Habitat, small creek in forest,
7,200 ft., Tulare County |
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Description |
| Size |
| Adults are 1 3/4 - 2 1/4 inches long (4.4 - 5.7 cm) from snout to vent. |
| Appearance |
| A small slim salamander with 16 - 17 costal grooves. Relatively large and robust when compared with most Slender Salamanders, having a fairly broad head, long legs, broad feet, short tail, and large toes. There are four toes on the front and hind feet, which is typical of Slender Salamanders. (Other California salamanders have five toes on the hind feet.) Color is rusty, bronze, gray, reddish, usually with a dorsal stripe and scattered flecks and spots. The venter is gray or black in color. The throat has heavy white mottling. Animals from dryer habitats have lighter coloring of gray or silver, while those from coniferous forest tend to match the darker environment with red and brown coloring. |
| Behavior and Natural History |
Little is known about this species. Like all Slender Salamanders, it breathes through thin moist skin instead of lungs. 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. In areas with perrenial surface moisture, activity may continue through the summer.
Typical of most Slender Salamanders, when disturbed, this salamander coils up and remains still, relying on cryptic coloring to avoid detection. It might also uncoil quickly and spring away, repeatedly bouncing over the ground, or drop its tail to distract a predator, although tail dropping (autotomy) is not common in this species. The tail is easily broken off, but it can be regenerated.
Feeding behavior is not well known, but other Batrachoseps species are sit-and-wait predators that use a projectile tongue to catch prey. |
| Diet |
| Most likely eats a variety of small invertebrates. |
| Reproduction and Young |
| 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. All species of Slender Salamanders lay eggs, typically in moist places on land. Young hatch fully formed. Gravid females have been found in early May. Females in a lab laid three eggs. Eggs in the lab hatched in 96 - 103 days. Hatchlings were black with gold or silver flecking measuring about a half inch in length from snout to vent (12 - 13 mm). |
| Range |
| Endemic to California. Occurs on the Kern Plateau of the southeastern Sierra Nevada in Kern County from 5,580 - 9,200 ft. (1,700 - 2,800 m), on the eastern slopes of the Sierra Nevada draining into the Owens Valley and Indian Wells Valley in Inyo County, at elevations of 4,690 to 8,000 ft. (1,430–2,440 m) and the Scodie Mountains in Kern County at elevations of 6,500 - 6,640 ft. (1,980 - 2,025 m). |
| Habitat |
| Found in moist habitats of pine and fir forests, and pinon pine, sagebrush, and oaks in drier habitats. Found under logs, bark, rocks, and other debris especially near springs, seeps and outflow streams. |
| Taxonomic Notes |
B. robustus was officially described in 2002. Specimens were first collected in 1972, but were misidentified as B. stebbensi.
DNA studies show that the more "robust" forms of Batrachoseps, B. robustus, B wrighti - Oregon Slender Salamander, and B. stebbinsi - Tehachapi Slender Salamander, are phylogenetically distant from other Batrachoseps species.
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| Conservation Issues (Conservation Status) |
| Listed as imperiled and near threatened. This is probably because its limited forested high-altitude riparian habitat makes it vulnerable to any alteration of the habitat. The populations in the Scodie mountains are small and isolated which makes them more vulnerable to habitat alteration. |
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Taxonomy |
| Family |
Plethodontidae |
Lungless Salamanders |
| Genus |
Batrachoseps |
Slender Salamanders |
Species
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robustus |
Kern Plateau Slender Salamander |
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Original description |
Wake, D.B., K.P. Yanev, and R.W. Hansen. - 1/13/2003. "New species of slender salamander, Genus Batrachoseps, from the southern Sierra Nevada of California." 2002 Copeia 4:1016-1028.
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Meaning of the Scientific Name |
Batrachoseps: Greek - amphibian, frog lizard - describes lizard-like appearance.
robustus: (probably Latin - (robust) referring to the large robust size.)
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Alternate Names |
None
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Similar Neighboring Salamanders |
Batrachoseps simatus
Batrachoseps relictus
Batrachoseps stebbinsi
Batrachoseps campi
Batrachoseps gregarious
Batrachoseps sp. Fairview/Upper Kern Canyon
Breckenridge Mountain Batrachoseps
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More Information and References |
Natureserve Explorer
California Dept. of Fish and Game
AmphibiaWebSalamander Diversity in the Kern Valley Region
Resources List
Wake, D.B., K.P. Yanev, and R.W. Hansen. - 1/13/2003. "New species of slender salamander, Genus Batrachoseps, from the southern Sierra Nevada of California." 2002 Copeia 4:1016-1028.
Stebbins, Robert C. A Field Guide to Western Reptiles and Amphibians, 3rd Edition. Houghton Mifflin, 2003
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The following status listings come from the Special Animals List which is published several times each year by the California Department of Fish and Game.
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Organization
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Status Listing
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| 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 Game |
None |
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| Bureau of Land Management |
None |
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| USDA Forest Service |
USFS:S |
Sensitive |
| Natureserve Global Conservation Status Ranks |
G2 S2 |
Imperiled |
World Conservation Union - IUCN Red List
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IUCN:NT |
Near Threatened |
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