Batrachoseps robustus
Wake, Yanev, and Hansen, 2002
Kern Plateau Salamander
G3VulnerableGlobal Rank
EndangeredIUCN
Medium - lowThreat Impact
Identity
Unique IDELEMENT_GLOBAL.2.104026
Element CodeAAAAD02220
Record TypeSPECIES
ClassificationSpecies
Classification StatusStandard
Name CategoryVertebrate Animal
IUCNEndangered
Endemicendemic to a single state or province
KingdomAnimalia
PhylumCraniata
ClassAmphibia
OrderCaudata
FamilyPlethodontidae
GenusBatrachoseps
Concept ReferenceWake, D. B., K. P. Yanev, and R. W. Hansen. 2002. New species of slender salamander, genus Batrachoseps, from the southern Sierra Nevada of California. Copeia 2002:1016-1028.
Conservation Status
Rank MethodLegacy Rank calculation - Excel v3.1x
Review Date2013-05-22
Change Date2013-05-22
Edition Date2013-05-22
Edition AuthorsHammerson, G., J. R. Macey, and T. J. Papenfuss
Threat ImpactMedium - low
Range Extent1000-5000 square km (about 400-2000 square miles)
Number of Occurrences21 - 80
Rank ReasonsKnown from a few dozen sites in the southern Sierra Nevada, California; habitat is vulnerable to alteration, but most populations currently are not imperiled by ongoing threats or known to be declining.
Range Extent CommentsRange includes the southern Sierra Nevada, California: Kern Plateau, Tulare County (elevations of 1,700-2,800 meters); steep east-facing canyons on the eastern slope of the Sierra Nevada, from Olancha Creek south to Ninemile Canyon, near the western margins of the Owens Valley and Indian Wells Valley, Inyo County (elevations of 1,430-2,440 meters); and Scodie Mountains, Kern County (elevations of 1,980-2,025 meters (Wake et al. 2002, Hansen and Wake 2005).
Occurrences CommentsThis species is known from about three dozen sites (Wake et al. 2002), which represent a smaller number of distinct occurrences.
Threat Impact CommentsSome sites have been affected by road construction, timber harvesting activities, or forest fire suppression efforts (Hansen and Wake 2005). These salamanders are vulnerable to habitat degradation through capping of springs by humans or other alterations of spring water or habitat. Habitat is easily altered by destructive intrusion.
Climate change is a potential threat if it results in decreased spring flows or a significant increase in the incidence of severe flash flooding.
Most populations are not very threatened under current conditions.
Ecology & Habitat
Habitat
These salamanders occur along small permanent creeks and springs with riparian vegetation in arid wooded mountains; typically under stones and wood (Wake et al. 2002). They are most numerous on the northern and western parts of the Kern Plateau, where habitat consists of relatively mesic red fir and Jeffrey pine forests (Wake et al. 2002). At lower, drier elevations, they are increasingly restricted to seasonal springs and seeps in otherwise arid environments (lodgepole pine, pinyon pine, black oak, canyon live oak, sagebrush-rabbitbrush (Wake et al. 2002, Stebbins and McGinnis 2012). Eggs are deposited in terrestrial sites, probably in moist sites along springs, seepages, or creek margins (Hansen and Wake 2005), and there is no aquatic larval stage.
Reproduction
Terrestrial breeder.
Terrestrial HabitatsWoodland - ConiferWoodland - Mixed
Palustrine HabitatsRiparian
Other Nations (1)
United StatesN3
| Province | Rank | Native |
|---|
| California | S3 | Yes |
References (9)
- Crother, B. I. (editor). 2017. Scientific and standard English names of amphibians and reptiles of North America north of Mexico, with comments regarding confidence in our understanding. 8th edition. SSAR Herpetological Circular 43:1-104. [Updates in SSAR North American Species Names Database at: https://ssarherps.org/cndb]
- Frost, D.R. 2020. Amphibian Species of the World: an Online Reference. Version 6.0. American Museum of Natural History, New York, USA. Online: http://research.amnh.org/herpetology/amphibia/index.html
- Hansen, R. W., and D. B. Wake. 2005. <i>Batrachoseps robustus </i>Wake, Yanev, and Hansen, 2002. Kern Plateau salamander. Pages 690-691 in M. Lannoo, editor. Amphibian declines: the conservation status of United States species. University of California Press, Berkeley.
- Richman, J. B. 1973. A range extension for the Tehachapi slender salamander, <i>Batrachoceps </i>[sic]<i> stebbinsi</i>. Herpetological Information Search Systems News-Journal 1:97.
- Stebbins, R. C. 1985a. A field guide to western reptiles and amphibians. Second edition. Houghton Mifflin Company, Boston, Massachusetts. xiv + 336 pp.
- Stebbins, R. C., and S. M. McGinnis. 2012. Field guide to amphibians and reptiles of California. Revised edition. University of California Press, Berkeley.
- U.S. Fish and Wildlife Service (USFWS). 2015. Endangered and threatened wildlife and plants; 90-day findings on 25 petitions, notice of petition findings and initiation of status reviews. Federal Register 80(181):56423-56432.
- U.S. Fish and Wildlife Service (USFWS). 2022. Endangered and Threatened Wildlife and Plants; 12-Month Finding for the Kern Plateau Salamander; Threatened Species Status With Section 4(d) Rule for the Kern Canyon Slender Salamander and Endangered Species Status for the Relictual Slender Salamander; Designation of Critical Habitat. Federal Register 87(200):63150-63199.
- Wake, D. B., K. P. Yanev, and R. W. Hansen. 2002. New species of slender salamander, genus <i>Batrachoseps</i>, from the southern Sierra Nevada of California. Copeia 2002:1016-1028.