Range in California: Light Blue
Click the map for a key to
the other Ensatina subspecies
Dot-locality Range Map
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Adult, in defensive pose, 6,000 ft., Breckenridge Mountain, Kern County |
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Adult, Tejon Pass, 3,500 ft. Kern County |
Juvenile, (about 1.5 inches in length) Tejon Pass, 3,500 ft. Kern County |
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Adult, 1,800 ft. elevation, Kern County, from intergrade zone with E.e.platensis. |
Adult, 1,800 ft. elevation, Kern County, from intergrade zone with E.e.platensis. |
Juvenile, Breckenridge Mtn.,
Kern County |
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Adult, 4,500 ft., Tehachapi, Kern County.
This Ensatina with large blotches was discovered one night in late December on a back porch. It was 45 degrees and raining. © Terri Asher |
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Habitat, Tehachapi Mountains,
Kern County
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Habitat, 3,500 ft., Tehachapi
Mountains, Kern County |
Habitat, 6,000 ft., Breckenridge
Mountain, Kern County |
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Description |
| Size |
| Adult Ensatina measure from 1 1/2 - 3 1/5 inches long ( 3.8 - 8.1 cm) from snout to vent, and 3 - 6 inches (7.5 - 15.5 cm) in total length. |
| Appearance |
A medium-sized plethodontid salamander which breathes through its smooth moist thin skin. The legs are long, and the body is relatively short, with 12 - 13 costal grooves. Nasolabial grooves are present. The tail is rounded and constricted at the base, which will differentiate this salamander from its neighbors. Males have longer, more slender tails than females, and a shorter snout with an enlarged upper lip.
This subspecies has a black ground color is marked with large yellow or cream-colored blotches, with yellow or orange on the base of the limbs. |
| Behavior |
| Ensatinas live in relatively cool moist places on land, and stay underground during hot and dry periods where they are able to tolerate considerable dehydration. They are most active on rainy or wet nights when temperatures are moderate. This subspecies is often found at high altitudes and is also inactive during severe winter weather. When disturbed, this salamander will stand tall in a stiff-legged defensive posture with its back swayed and the tail raised up. Often the salamander will secrete a milky white substance from the tail. This noxious substance repels potential predators. |
| Diet |
| Eats a wide variety of invertebrates. Click here to watch a movie of an Ensatina feeding. |
| Reproduction |
| Breeds mainly in fall and spring, but may also breed throughout the winter. Females lay eggs on land, brooding them under bark or in rotting logs or underground. The young hatch fully formed. |
| Range |
The Yellow-blotched Ensatina subspecies is endemic to California. It occurs in the Tehachapi mountains, on Mt. Pinos, near Fort Tejon, and near Frazier-Alamo mountain. It intergrades with the Large-blotched Ensatina in the San Bernardino and San Jacinto Mountains.
The species Ensatina is found in an isolated location in the mountains of Baja California and along the extreme northwest coast of Baja California, north through California circling the central valley, in the Cascades Mountains and west of the mountains in Oregon and Washington, on Vancouver Island, and along the coast of southern British Columbia. |
| Habitat |
| Found in evergreen and deciduous forests, under rocks, logs, and other surface debris, especially bark that has peeled off and fallen beside decaying logs. Shaded north-facing areas seem to be favored, especially near creeks or streams. Most common where there is a lot of woody debris on the forest foor. In dry or very cold weather, stays inside moist logs, animal burrows, under roots, woodrat nests, and under rocks. |
| Taxonomic Notes |
| Ensatina eschscholtzii is typically treated as a "ring" species, consisting of 7 subspecies: E. e. croceater, E. e. eschscholtzii, E. e. klauberi, E. e. oregonensis, E. e. picta, E. e. platensis, and E. e. xanthoptica, which ring the Central Valley, but do not interbreed where the rings overlap in Southern California (and possibly in the central Sierra Nevada.) Some researchers see Ensatina eschscholtzii as two or more species forming a superspecies complex, recognizing E. e. klauberi, found at the southern end of the ring, as a separate species - Ensatina klauberi. E. e. eschscholtzii has been found to hybridize with intergrades of E. e. croceator and E. e. klauberi.
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| Conservation Issues (Conservation Status) |
| This subspecies is a species of special concern. |
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Taxonomy |
| Family |
Plethodontidae |
Lungless Salamanders |
| Genus |
Ensatina |
Ensatinas |
| Species |
Eschscholtzii |
Ensatina |
Subspecies
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croceater |
Yellow-blotched Ensatina |
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Original Description |
Ensatina eschscholtzii - Gray, 1850 - Cat. Spec. Amph. Coll. Brit. Mus., Batr. Grad., p. 48
Ensatina eschscholtzii croceater - Cope, "1867" 1868 - Proc. Acad. Nat. Sci. Philadelphia, Vol. 19, p. 210
from Original Description Citations for the Reptiles and Amphibians of North America © Ellin Beltz
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Meaning of the Scientific Name |
Ensatina: Latin - sword shaped/similar to, possibly referring to the teeth.
eschscholtzii: honors Johann F. Eschscholtz.
croceater: Latin - saffron colored & black, referring to the color pattern.
from Scientific and Common Names of the Reptiles and Amphibians of North America - Explained © Ellin Beltz
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Alternate Names |
None
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Related California Salamanders |
Large-blotched Ensatina
Monterey Ensatina
Oregon Ensatina
Painted Ensatina
Sierra Nevada Ensatina
Yellow-blotched Ensatina
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More Information and References |
Natureserve Explorer
California Dept. of Fish and Game
AmphibiaWeb
Speciation in Progress
Stebbins, Robert C. A Field Guide to Western Reptiles and Amphibians. 3rd Edition. Houghton Mifflin Company, 2003.
Behler, John L., & F. Wayne King. The Audubon Society Field Guide to North American Reptiles and Amphibians. Alfred A. Knopf, 1992.
Bishop, Sherman C. Handbook of Salamanders. Cornell University Press, 1943.
Petranka, James W. Salamanders of the United States and Canada. Smithsonian Institution, 1998.
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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 |
DFG:SSC |
California Species of Special Concern |
| Bureau of Land Management |
BLM:S |
Sensitive |
| USDA Forest Service |
USFS:S |
Sensitive |
| Natureserve Global Conservation Status Ranks |
G5 |
Secure |
World Conservation Union - IUCN Red List
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IUCN:LC |
Least Concern |
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