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Home/Species/ California Slender Salamander

Batrachoseps attenuatus

(Eschscholtz, 1833)

California Slender Salamander

G5Secure Found in 8 roadless areas NatureServe Explorer →
G5SecureGlobal Rank
Least concernIUCN
LowThreat Impact
Identity
Unique IDELEMENT_GLOBAL.2.100895
Element CodeAAAAD02020
Record TypeSPECIES
ClassificationSpecies
Classification StatusStandard
Name CategoryVertebrate Animal
IUCNLeast concern
Endemicendemic to a single nation
KingdomAnimalia
PhylumCraniata
ClassAmphibia
OrderCaudata
FamilyPlethodontidae
GenusBatrachoseps
Other Common Names
California slender salamander (EN)
Concept Reference
Frost, D. R. 1985. Amphibian species of the world. A taxonomic and geographical reference. Allen Press, Inc., and The Association of Systematics Collections, Lawrence, Kansas. v + 732 pp.
Taxonomic Comments
This species is highly differentiated with respect to mitochondrial DNA and Martinéz-Solano et al. (2007) recognized five major clades. Highton (2014), using only the mtDNA data, suggested that as many as 39 species should be recognized (Crother 2017). Also see Boundy (2000).
Conservation Status
Review Date2001-12-17
Change Date2001-12-17
Edition Date2001-12-17
Edition AuthorsHammerson, G.
Threat ImpactLow
Range Extent20,000-200,000 square km (about 8000-80,000 square miles)
Number of Occurrences> 300
Rank Reasons
Range is moderately small (central California to southwestern Oregon), but this salamander is common in many areas and in diverse habitats, and it does not require pristine conditions; overall, probably there has not been much of a decline.
Range Extent Comments
Boundy (2000) provided an up-to-date description of the range, which has changed in recent years as a result of taxonomic revisions: coastal southwestern Oregon south through north coastal California to the vicinity of the Russian River, thence southward along the coast and through the Coast Ranges and valleys to the northern edge of the Monterey Bay lowlands and the vicinity of Tres Pinos Creek in Santa Cruz and San Benito counties; distributed in the inner Coast Ranges from just north of Newville in Tehama County to the San Luis Reservoir drainage in Merced County; isolated populations occur in the Sacramento Valley at Sutter Buttes, Sutter County, and in riparian zones near the Sacramento River, and near Shasta Reservoir in Shasta County; distribution in the Sierra Nevada foothills extends from near Paradise, Butte County, south to Fiddletown, Amador County.
Occurrences Comments
Represented by many and/or large occurrences throughout the range.
Ecology & Habitat

Habitat

Grasslands with scattered trees, chaparral, woodlands, redwood forests; occurs under leaf litter, rotten logs, and surface debris when the surface is moist; retreats to rodent burrows and other cavities in the soil during the dry season. Lays eggs under bark (or other litter) on the ground or in cavities in rotten logs or in the soil (Nussbaum et al. 1983).

Ecology

Population density ranges up to about around 1 per 1.5 sq m. Home range may have a radius of about 1.7 m (Nussbaum et al. 1983).

Reproduction

Terrestrial breeder. Lays 4-21 eggs in late fall and winter; eggs hatch in winter and spring. Frequently several females lay eggs in a communal nest (Nussbaum et al. 1983, Stebbins 1985). Maximum lifespan is several years (Wake and Castanet 1995).
Terrestrial Habitats
Forest - HardwoodForest - ConiferForest - MixedWoodland - HardwoodWoodland - ConiferWoodland - MixedShrubland/chaparralSavannaGrassland/herbaceousSuburban/orchard
Palustrine Habitats
Riparian
Other Nations (1)
United StatesN5
ProvinceRankNative
CaliforniaSNRYes
OregonS3Yes
Roadless Areas (8)
California (5)
AreaForestAcres
North Fork SmithSix Rivers National Forest37,898
Orleans Mtn. CSix Rivers National Forest15,589
PacksaddleSix Rivers National Forest3,862
Siskiyou BSix Rivers National Forest18,871
Snow MountainMendocino National Forest14,457
Idaho (1)
AreaForestAcres
Bear CreekCaribou-Targhee National Forest118,582
Oregon (1)
AreaForestAcres
South KalmiopsisSiskiyou National Forests104,477
Texas (1)
AreaForestAcres
Big CreekNational Forests in Texas1,447
References (15)
  1. AmphibiaWeb: Information on amphibian biology and conservation. [web application]. 2005. Berkeley, California: AmphibiaWeb. Available: http://amphibiaweb.org/.
  2. Behler, J. L., and F. W. King. 1979. The Audubon Society field guide to North American reptiles and amphibians. Alfred A. Knopf, New York. 719 pp.
  3. Blackburn, L., P. Nanjappa, and M. J. Lannoo. 2001. An Atlas of the Distribution of U.S. Amphibians. Copyright, Ball State University, Muncie, Indiana, USA.
  4. Boundy, J. 2000. Batrachoseps attenuatus. Catalogue of American Amphibians and Reptiles. 701:1-6.
  5. Corkran, C. C., and C. Thoms. 1996. Amphibians of Oregon, Washington and British Columbia. Lone Pine Publishing, Edmonton, Alberta. 175 pp.
  6. 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]
  7. Frost, D. R. 1985. Amphibian species of the world. A taxonomic and geographical reference. Allen Press, Inc., and The Association of Systematics Collections, Lawrence, Kansas. v + 732 pp.
  8. 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
  9. Highton, R. 2014. Detecting cryptic species in phylogeographic studies: Speciation in the California Slender Salamander, <i>Batrachoseps attenuatus</i>. Molecular Phylogenetics and Evolution 71:127-141.
  10. Leonard, W. P., H. A. Brown, L. L. C. Jones, K. R. McAllister, and R. M. Storm. 1993. Amphibians of Washington and Oregon. Seattle Audubon Society, Seattle, Washington. viii + 168 pp.
  11. Martínez-Solano, Í., E. L. Jockusch, and D. B. Wake. 2007. Extreme population subdivision throughout a continuous range: phylogeography of <i>Batrachoseps attenuatus</i> (Caudata: Plethodontidae) in western North America. Molecular Ecology 16:4335-4355.
  12. Nussbaum, R.A., E.D. Brodie, Jr., and R.M. Storm. 1983. Amphibians and Reptiles of the Pacific Northwest. University Press of Idaho, Moscow, Idaho. 332 pp.
  13. Stebbins, R. C. 1985a. A field guide to western reptiles and amphibians. Second edition. Houghton Mifflin Company, Boston, Massachusetts. xiv + 336 pp.
  14. Stebbins, R. C. 2003. A field guide to western reptiles and amphibians. Third edition. Houghton Mifflin Company, Boston.
  15. Wake, D.B. and J. Castanet. 1995. A skeletochronological study of growth and age in relation to adult size in a population of the plethodontid salamander <i>Batrachoseps attenuatus</i>. Journal of Herpetology 29(1):60-65.