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Home/Species/ Kern Canyon Slender Salamander

Batrachoseps simatus

Brame and Murray, 1968

Kern Canyon Slender Salamander

G2Imperiled (G2G3) Found in 6 roadless areas NatureServe Explorer →
G2ImperiledGlobal Rank
EndangeredIUCN
Medium - lowThreat Impact
Identity
Unique IDELEMENT_GLOBAL.2.894174
Element CodeAAAAD02080
Record TypeSPECIES
ClassificationSpecies
Classification StatusStandard
Name CategoryVertebrate Animal
IUCNEndangered
Endemicendemic to a single state or province
KingdomAnimalia
PhylumCraniata
ClassAmphibia
OrderCaudata
FamilyPlethodontidae
GenusBatrachoseps
Concept Reference
Jockusch, E. L., I. Martínez-Solano, R. W. Hansen, and D. B. Wake. 2012. Morphological and molecular diversification of slender salamanders (Caudata: Plethodontidae: Batrachoseps) in the southern Sierra Nevada of California with descriptions of two new species. Zootaxa 3190:1-30.
Taxonomic Comments
Part of B. simatus as circumscribed by Brame and Murray (1968) is now included in B. bramei (Jockusch et al. 2012).
Conservation Status
Rank MethodLegacy Rank calculation - Excel v3.1x
Review Date2013-05-14
Change Date2013-05-14
Edition Date2013-05-14
Edition AuthorsHammerson, G.
Threat ImpactMedium - low
Range Extent<100-250 square km (less than about 40-100 square miles)
Number of Occurrences6 - 20
Rank Reasons
Small range and area of occupancy in the lower Kern River Canyon, California; vulnerable to habitat destruction/degradation from human activities.
Range Extent Comments
Known range includes several locations (disjunct patches of habitat, all south of Lake Isabella and the Kern River) in the lower Kern River Canyon (Stork Creek, 455 meters, to Clear Creek, 685 meters) and in Erskine Creek Canyon on the northern flank of the Piute Mountains (890-1,220 meters), Kern County, California (Hansen and Wake 2005, Jockusch et al. 2012).
Occurrences Comments
This species is known from several locations (e.g., see map in Jockusch et al. 2012); at least 12 "sites" (Hansen and Wake 2005).
Threat Impact Comments
Construction of state highway 178 probably negatively affected the habitat of this species. Cattle grazing has severely degraded the habitat, particularly in narrow ravines. See Hansen and Wake (2005).

Potential threats include habitat destruction/degradation that could result from logging, mining, highway construction, impoundments and small hydro development, or firewood collecting.

Climate change presumably may eliminate or reduce the suitability of some of the existing habitat.
Ecology & Habitat

Habitat

This species occurs along stream courses and on ridges and hillsides; on north-facing slopes and in small wooded tributary canyons; in oak-pine communities on slopes, and in willow and cottonwood communities along streams; it may range into grassland adjacent to woods; often in crevices in talus slopes or under rocks and logs (Stebbins 2003). Biosystems Analysis (1989) mentioned also chaparral as a habitat. Terrestrial breeder.

Reproduction

Eggs are laid apparently in late spring/early summer. Terrestrial breeder, no aquatic larval stage.
Terrestrial Habitats
Forest - HardwoodForest - MixedWoodland - HardwoodWoodland - MixedShrubland/chaparralGrassland/herbaceousBare rock/talus/scree
Palustrine Habitats
Riparian
Other Nations (1)
United StatesN2
ProvinceRankNative
CaliforniaS2Yes
Threat Assessments
ThreatScopeSeverityTiming
1 - Residential & commercial developmentSmall (1-10%)Extreme - seriousLow (long-term)
1.2 - Commercial & industrial areas———
2 - Agriculture & aquacultureLarge (31-70%)Slight or 1-10% pop. declineHigh (continuing)
2.3 - Livestock farming & ranching———
3 - Energy production & miningSmall (1-10%)Extreme - seriousLow (long-term)
3.2 - Mining & quarrying———
4 - Transportation & service corridorsSmall (1-10%)Extreme - seriousLow (long-term)
4.1 - Roads & railroads———
7 - Natural system modificationsLarge - restrictedModerate - slightModerate (short-term)
7.1 - Fire & fire suppression———
7.2 - Dams & water management/use———
11 - Climate change & severe weatherPervasive - largeModerate - slightModerate (short-term)
11.2 - Droughts———

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Roadless Areas (6)
California (6)
AreaForestAcres
Greenhorn CreekSequoia National Forest28,226
Greenhorn CreekSequoia National Forest28,226
Mill CreekSequoia National Forest27,643
Mill CreekSequoia National Forest27,643
WoolstaffSequoia National Forest41,445
WoolstaffSequoia National Forest41,445
References (17)
  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. Biosystems Analysis, Inc. 1989. Endangered Species Alert Program Manual: Species Accounts and Procedures. Southern California Edison Environmental Affairs Division.
  4. Biosystems Analysis, Inc. 1989. Endangered Species Alert Program Manual: Species Accounts and Procedures. Southern California Edison Environmental Affairs Division.
  5. 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.
  6. Bury, R. B., C. K. Dodd, Jr., and G. M. Fellers. 1980. Conservation of the Amphibia of the United States: a review. U.S. Fish and Wildlife Service, Washington, D.C., Resource Publication 134. 34 pp.
  7. California Department of Fish and Game (CDF&G). 1990. 1989 annual report on the status of California's state listed threatened and endangered plants and animals. 188 pp.
  8. 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]
  9. 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.
  10. 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
  11. Hansen, R. W., and D. B. Wake. 2005. <i>Batrachoseps simatus</i> Brame and Murray, 1968. Kern Canyon slender salamander. Pages 691-692 in M. Lannoo, editor. Amphibian declines: the conservation status of United States species. University of California Press, Berkeley.
  12. Jockusch, E. L., I. Martínez-Solano, R. W. Hansen, and D. B. Wake. 2012. Morphological and molecular diversification of slender salamanders (Caudata: Plethodontidae: <i>Batrachoseps</i>) in the southern Sierra Nevada of California with descriptions of two new species. Zootaxa 3190:1-30.
  13. Stebbins, R. C. 1972. California Amphibians and Reptiles. University of California Press, Berkeley, California.
  14. Stebbins, R. C. 1985a. A field guide to western reptiles and amphibians. Second edition. Houghton Mifflin Company, Boston, Massachusetts. xiv + 336 pp.
  15. U.S. Fish and Wildlife Service (USFWS). 2015. Endangered and Threatened Wildlife and Plants; 90-Day Findings on 31 Petitions. Federal Register 80(126):37568-37579.
  16. 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.
  17. U.S. Fish and Wildlife Service (USFWS). 2025. Endangered and Threatened Wildlife and Plants; Review of Species That Are Candidates for Listing as Endangered or Threatened; Annual Notification of Findings on Resubmitted Petitions; Annual Description of Progress on Listing Actions. Candidate notice of review (CNOR). Federal Register 90(209):48912-48937.