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and Reptiles of California




Ensatina - Ensatina Eschscholtzii

Ensatina eschscholtzii klauberi - Large-blotched Ensatina

Dunn, 1929

(= Ensatina klauberi)

Click on a picture for a larger view
Ensatina California Range Map
Dark Blue: Range of this subspecies in California
Ensatina eschscholtzii klauberi - Large-blotched Ensatina

Range of other subspecies in California:

Light Blue: Ensatina eschscholtzii croceater -
Yellow-blotched Ensatina


Purple: Ensatina eschscholtzii eschscholtzii -
Monterey Ensatina


Red: Ensatina eschscholtzii oregonensis -
Oregon Ensatina


Pink: Ensatina eschscholtzii picta -
Painted Ensatina


Orange: Ensatina eschscholtzii platensis -
Sierra Nevada Ensatina


Yellow
: Ensatina eschscholtzii xanthoptica -
Yellow-eyed Ensatina


Click on the map for a topographical view

Map with California County Names








observation link





Large-blotched Ensatina Large-blotched Ensatina
Adult, Mt. Palomar, San Diego County Adult, Mt. Palomar, San Diego County
Large-blotched Ensatina Large-blotched Ensatina Large-blotched Ensatina Large-blotched Ensatina
  Adult, Mt. Palomar, San Diego County Adult, San Diego County
© Jason Jones
Large-blotched Ensatina Large-blotched Ensatina Large-blotched Ensatina Large-blotched Ensatina
Adult, Mt. Palomar, San Diego County Adult, San Diego County
© Brad Alexander
Large-blotched Ensatina Large-blotched Ensatina Large-blotched Ensatina Large-blotched Ensatina
  Adult, Mt. Palomar, San Diego County   Adult with unusual pattern, Mt. Palomar, San Diego County © Stuart Young
Large-blotched Ensatina Large-blotched Ensatina Large-blotched Ensatina Large-blotched Ensatina
Adult, San Diego County © Paul Maier Adult, Mt. Palomar, San Diego County
© Mark Gary
Adults, Mt. Palomar, San Diego County
© Mark Gary
Adult Large-blotched and juvenile Monterey Ensatina found under the same log on Mt. Palomar, San Diego County © Jay Keller
Large-blotched Ensatina Large-blotched Ensatina    
A pale adult Large-blotched Ensatina from Mt. Palomar, San Diego County
© Jeff Nordland
Adults and juveniles, San Diego County © Paul Maier    
       
Juveniles
Large-blotched Ensatina Large-blotched Ensatina Large-blotched Ensatina  
Tiny juvenile, Mt. Palomar, San Diego County  
       
Large-blotched Ensatina Courtship
Large-blotched Ensatina Large-blotched Ensatina Large-blotched Ensatina
This pair of courting adults was found on a wet January night in San Diego County.
© Jeff Nordland
This smaller male was found only a few feet away from the pair shown to the left and was probably in competition for the female. © Jeff Nordland Hybrid or intergrade E. e. eschscholtzii, (Top) with a typical Large-blotched Ensatina (Bottom).
Mt. Palomar, San Diego County
© Jeff Nordland
     
Unusually-pigmented Large-blotched Ensatinas
Large-blotched Ensatina Large-blotched Ensatina Large-blotched Ensatina  
Hypomelanistic adult, San Diego County Mountains © Jeff Nordland Piebald juvenile, San Diego County Mountains © Jeff Nordland Piebald adult, San Diego County Mountains © Jeff Nordland  
       
Hybrids or Intergrades
Large-blotched Ensatina Large-blotched Ensatina Large-blotched Ensatina Large-blotched Ensatina
Pale-blotched adult, (probably an intergrade with the
Yellow-blotched Ensatina
) 5,500 ft., Mt. San Jacinto, Riverside County
Hybrid or intergrade with
E. e. eschscholtzii,
San Diego County
© Brad Alexander
Aberrant adult, or hybrid, San Diego County © Anthony Mercieca
Large-blotched Ensatina Large-blotched Ensatina Large-blotched Ensatina Large-blotched Ensatina
Hybrid or intergrade with E. e. eschscholtzii, Mt. Palomar,
San Diego County © Jeff Nordland
Hybrid or intergrade with E. e. eschscholtzii, Mt. Palomar,
San Diego County © Alex Bairstow
Large-blotched Ensatina Large-blotched Ensatina Large-blotched Ensatina Large-blotched Ensatina
Hybrid or intergrade with
E. e. eschscholtzii,
Mt. Palomar, San Diego County © Jeff Nordland
Hybrid, San Diego County © Paul Maier Top - E. e. eschscholtzii
Middle - E.e.klauberi x E.e.eschscholtzii
Bottom - E. e. klauberi
San Diego County © Paul Maier
Hybrid or intergrade E. e. eschscholtzii, (Top) with a typical Large-blotched Ensatina (Bottom).
Mt. Palomar, San Diego County
© Jeff Nordland
       
Habitat
Large-blotched Ensatina Habitat Large-blotched Ensatina Habitat Large-blotched Ensatina Habitat Large-blotched Ensatina Habitat
Habitat, San Diego County Habitat, 5,000 ft. Mt. Palomar,
San Diego County
Habitat, 4,600 ft. San Diego County Habitat, 5,000 ft. Mt. Palomar,
San Diego County
Large-blotched Ensatina Habitat Large-blotched Ensatina Habitat    
Habitat, 4,600 ft, San Diego County Habitat of hybrids, San Diego County
© Paul Maier
   
       
Short Videos
Large-blotched Ensatina Large-blotched Ensatina Large-blotched Ensatina  
An adult Large-blotched Ensatina crawls around in the forest on a San Diego County mountain. A juveinle Large-blotched Ensatina
in San Diego County.

In this YouTube video we watch an adult Large-blotched Ensatina cross a blacktop road on a rainy night in San Diego County. On the other side of the road, the photographer spots another Ensatina. © Jeff Nordland

 
       
Description
 
Size
An adult Ensatina measures from 1.5 - 3.2 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 salamander.
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.
Color and Pattern
This subspecies is blackish above with large orange, yellow, or pinkish blotches and coloring on the base of the limbs and a gray venter.
The eyes are dark with no yellow markings.
Male / Female Differences
Males have longer, more slender tails than females, and a shorter snout with an enlarged upper lip, while the bodies of females are usually shorter and fatter than the bodies of males.

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
Ensatina live in relatively cool moist places on land becoming most active on rainy or wet nights when temperatures are moderate. They stay underground during hot and dry periods where they are able to tolerate considerable dehydration.
They may also continue to feed underground during the summer months.
High-altitude populations are also inactive during severe winter cold.
Longevity has been estimated at up to 15 years.
Territoriality
Adults have been observed marking and defending territories outside of the breeding season.
Longevity
Longevity has been estimated at up to 15 years.
Defense
When it feels severely threatened by a predator, an Ensatina may detach its tail from the body to distract the predator. The tail moves back and forth on the ground to attract the predator while the Ensatina slowly crawls away to safety. The tail can be re-grown.

The tail also contains a high density of poison glands. When disturbed, an Ensatina will stand tall in a stiff-legged defensive posture with its back swayed and the tail raised up while it secretes a milky white substance from the tail, swaying from side to side. This noxious substance repels predators, although some experienced predators learn to eat all but the tail. The poison is also exuded from glands on the head.

If a person gets the poison on their lips, they will experience some numbness for several hours. (Charles Brown - Ensatina.net)

Rarely, an Ensatina may make a hissing or squeaking sound when threatened.
Predators
Predators include Stellar's Jays, gartersnakes, and racoons.
(Kuchta and Parks, Lanoo ed. - Amphibian Declines... 2005)
Diet and Feeding
Ensatinas eat a wide variety of invertebrates, including worms, ants, beetles, spiders, scorpions, centipedes, millipedes, sow bugs, and snails.
They expell a relatively long sticky tongue from the mouth to capture the prey and pull it back into the mouth where it is crushed and killed, then swallowed.
Typically feeding is done using sit-and-wait ambush tactics, but sometimes Ensatinas will slowly stalk their prey.
Sound
"Rarely, it may produce a squeak or snakelike hiss, quite a feat for an animal without lungs!"
(Stebbins & McGinnis 2012)
Yellow-blotched Ensatina
This frightened Humboldt County Ensatina is raised up in defensive mode, excreting a milky white defensive liquid on its head and tail. It jerks its head several times, and each time it makes a very faint squeaking sound.
Click the picture to play a short video to hear the squeaking. (You might need to turn the volume all the way up.)
© Cory Walker
Reproduction
Reproduction is terrestrial.
Mating takes place in Fall and Spring, but may also occur throughout the winter.
Stebbins describes an elaborate Ensatina courtship involving the male rubbing his body and head against the female eventually dropping a sperm capsule onto the ground which the female picks up with her cloaca. You can watch an Ensatina courtship video on YouTube.

The female can store the sperm until she determines the time is right to fertilize her eggs.
At the end of the rainy season, typically April or May, females retreat to their aestivation site under bark, in rotting logs, or in underground animal burrows, and lay their eggs.
Eggs
Females lay 3 - 25 eggs, with 9 - 16 being average.
Females remain with the eggs to guard them until they hatch.
(Pictures of Ensatinas with their eggs and hatchlings)
In labs, eggs have hatched in 113 - 177 days.
Young
Young develop completely in the egg and probably leave the nesting site with the first saturating Fall rains, or, at higher elevations, after the snow melts.

Habitat
Inhabits moist shaded evergreen and deciduous forests and oak woodlands. Found under rocks, logs, other debris, especially bark that has peeled off and fallen beside logs and trees. Most common where there is a lot of coarse woody debris on the forest foor. In dry or very cold weather, stays inside moist logs, animal burrows, under roots, woodrat nests, under rocks.

Geographical Range
Found in the peninsular ranges of southern California and part of the eastern San Bernardino Mountains. Isolated populations occur in the San Pedro de Martir Mountains and the Sierra Juarez of northern Baja California. (Grismer, 2002)
Old sightings from the San Gabriel Mountains have not been confirmed.
The subspecies intergrades with the Yellow-blotched Ensatina in the San Bernardino and San Jacinto Mountains.

Ensatina is the most widely-distributed plethodontid salamander in the West, ranging from an isolated location in the mountains of Baja California north along the extreme northwest coast of Baja California, through most of California excluding the deserts, the central valley, and high elevations in the mountains, continuing north into Oregon and Washington west of the Cascades Mountains, and farther north into Canada along the coast of southern British Columbia. Also found on Vancouver Island.

The range maps in Stebbins (2003 and 2012) show a very large range of intergradation between 4 subspecies in Northern California that at one time was considered part of the range E. e. oregonensis. I show this range on my maps as E. e. oregonensis partly because Stebbins & McGinnis, 2012, report that molecular studies have shown complexities that make the use of the term "intergrade" innacurate.


Arizona Population

A population of Large-blotched Ensatina has become established in Gila County, Arizona. anong Tonto Creek. I have reported them here since 2014 when I was sent some pictures of them to identify. A Herp Review note published in March, 2019, provides more details: Twenty-two of them were collected in the Palomar Mountains of California and intentionally and illegally released at the Arizona location in April 1980 where they have been observed at least since 2003.
(Andrew S. Baldwin, Herpetological Review 50(1), 2019)



Full Species Range Map
Elevational Range
In his 2003 field guide, Stebbins shows the elevational range of Ensatina eschscholtzii as "Sea level to around 11,000 ft (3,350 m). That is for the species but not necessarily this subspecies.

Notes on Taxonomy

Coexists with E. e. eschscholtziiin the Peninsular ranges, hybridizing with it at some locations, including Mt. Palomar. Intergrades with E. e. croceater in the San Bernardino and San Jacinto Mountains.

Ensatina taxonomy is controversial. The species Ensatina eschscholtzii traditionally consists of 7 subspecies:

E. e. croceater
E. e. eschscholtzii
E. e. klauberi
E. e. oregonensis
E. e. picta
E. e. platensis
E. e. xanthoptica

Some researchers see Ensatina eschscholtzii as two or more species that make up a superspecies complex.
They recognize E. e. klauberi, found at the southern end of the ring, as a separate species - Ensatina klauberi.


Ensatina as a Ring Species

Ensatina eschscholtzii has been called a "ring" species, or "Rassenkreis" (race circle) "...a connected series of neighbouring populations, each of which can interbreed with closely sited related populations, but for which there exist at least two 'end' populations in the series, which are too distantly related to interbreed, though there is a potential gene flow between each 'linked' population. Such non-breeding, though genetically connected, 'end' populations may co-exist in the same region thus closing a 'ring'." (Wickipedia, 8/26/17) The "end" populations of Ensatina are the E. e. escholtzii and the E. e. klauberi subspecies, which hybridize in San Diego County.


To learn much more about Ensatina and the ring species concept, check out this Understanding Evolution Research Profile about Tom Devitt's work.


Charles W. Brown explains the taxonomy of the Ensatina complex in detail, describing it as "a classical example of Darwinian evolution by gradualism; an accumulation of micro mutations that is now leading to the formation of a new species."


Illustration of the Ensatina ring:

Large-blotched Ensatina

Use: This file is licensed under the Creative Commons Attribution 2.0 Generic license.
Photo Credit: Thomas J. Devitt, Stuart J.E. Baird and Craig Moritz, 2011.
Source: (2011). "Asymmetric reproductive isolation between terminal forms of the salamander ring species Ensatina eschscholtzii revealed by fine-scale genetic analysis of a hybrid zone". BMC Evolutionary Biology 11 (1): 245. DOI:10.1186/1471-2148-11-245.

Alternate and Previous Names (Synonyms)

Ensatina klauberi - Large-blotched Ensatina (Stebbins 2003)
Ensatina eschscholtzii klauberi - Large-blotched Ensatina (Stebbins 2003)
Ensatina eschscholtzii klauberi
- Large-blotched Salamander (Ensatina) (Stebbins 1966, 1985)
Ensatina eschscholtzii klauberi - ssp. of Eschscholtz's Salamander (Stebbins 1954)
Ensatina croceater - YellowBlotched Salamander (Yellow Spotted Salamander) (Bishop 1943)
Ensatina croceater - Yellow-spotted Salamander (Storer 1925)
Plethodon croceater (Cope 1867)

Conservation Issues  (Conservation Status)
A California Species of Special Concern.
Taxonomy
Family Plethodontidae Lungless Salamanders Gray, 1850
Genus Ensatina Ensatinas Gray, 1850
Species Eschscholtzii Ensatina Gray, 1850
Subspecies

klauberi Large-blotched Ensatina Dunn, 1929
Original Description
Ensatina eschscholtzii - Gray, 1850 - Cat. Spec. Amph. Coll. Brit. Mus., Batr. Grad., p. 48
Ensatina eschscholtzii klauberi -Tanner, "1944" 1945 - Great Basin Nat., Vol. 5, p. 71, pl. 1, map

from Original Description Citations for the Reptiles and Amphibians of North America © Ellin Beltz

Meaning of the Scientific Name
Ensatina: Latin - sword shaped/similar to, possibly referring to the teeth.
eschscholtzii: honors Johann F. Eschscholtz.
klauberi: honors Laurence M. Klauber

from Scientific and Common Names of the Reptiles and Amphibians of North America - Explained © Ellin Beltz

Related California Salamanders
Monterey Ensatina
Oregon Ensatina
Painted Ensatina
Sierra Nevada Ensatina

Yellow-eyed Ensatina
Yellow-blotched Ensatina

More Information and References
California Department of Fish and Wildlife

AmphibiaWeb

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.

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.

Grismer, L. Lee. Amphibians and Reptiles of Baja California, Including Its Pacific Islands and the Islands in the Sea of Cortés. The University of California Press, 2002.

Joao Alexandrino, Stuart J. E. Baird, Lucinda Lawson, J. Robert Macey, Craig Moritz, and David B. Wake.  Strong Selection Against Hybrids at a Hybrid Zone in the Ensatina Ring Species Complex and Its Evolutionary Implications.  Evolution, 59(6), 2005, pp. 1334–1347.

Shawn R. Kuchta, Duncan S. Parks, David B. Wake. Pronounced phylogeographic structure on a small spatial scale: Geomorphological evolution and lineage history in the salamander ring species Ensatina eschscholtzii in central coastal California. Molecular Phylogenetics and Evolution 50 (2009) 240–255

Conservation Status

The following conservation status listings for this animal are taken from the January 2024 State of California Special Animals List and the January 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.

The 2023 list shows this salamander as the subspecies Ensatina eschscholtzii klauberi  - large-blotched salamander.
(The 2020 CDFW list showed it as a full species - Ensatina klauberi - large-blotched salamander.)
.
Organization Status Listing  Notes
NatureServe Global Ranking G5T2? Secure - Imperiled
NatureServe State Ranking S3

Vulnerable

U.S. Endangered Species Act (ESA) None
California Endangered Species Act (CESA) None
California Department of Fish and Wildlife WL Watch List
Bureau of Land Management None
USDA Forest Service S Sensitive
IUCN Not listed
 

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