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Taricha sierrae

(Twitty, 1942)

Sierra Newt

G4Apparently Secure Found in 30 roadless areas NatureServe Explorer →
G4Apparently SecureGlobal Rank
Least concernIUCN
MediumThreat Impact
Identity
Unique IDELEMENT_GLOBAL.2.100598
Element CodeAAAAF02031
Record TypeSPECIES
ClassificationSpecies
Classification StatusStandard
Name CategoryVertebrate Animal
IUCNLeast concern
Endemicendemic to a single state or province
KingdomAnimalia
PhylumCraniata
ClassAmphibia
OrderCaudata
FamilySalamandridae
GenusTaricha
Synonyms
Taricha sierra(Twitty, 1942)Taricha torosa sierrae(Twitty, 1942)
Concept Reference
Collins, J. T. 1990. Standard common and current scientific names for North American amphibians and reptiles. 3rd ed. Society for the Study of Amphibians and Reptiles. Herpetological Circular No. 19. 41 pp.
Taxonomic Comments
Taricha torosa sierrae was elevated to species status by Kuchta (2007).

Phylogenetic analysis of mtDNA data (Tan and Wake 1995) revealed the following clusters in T. torosa: (1) northern Sierra Nevada (Shasta to Nevada counties); (2) central Sierra Nevada (El Dorado to Fresno counties); (3) southern Sierra Nevada (Tulare to Kern counties) (independently derived relative to 1 and 2, above); (4) southern coastal California (San Diego and Orange counties); (5) central coastal California (Los Angeles to central and northern California). This study and additional allozyme data (Kuchta and Tan 2006) provided the basis for a phylogeographical history of T. torosa. Among other things, the data are consistent in indicating that populations in the southern Sierra Nevada are more closely related to T. torosa torosa than to T. t. sierrae.
Conservation Status
Review Date2008-04-25
Change Date2005-10-07
Threat ImpactMedium
Range Extent5000-200,000 square km (about 2000-80,000 square miles)
Number of Occurrences81 - 300
Range Extent Comments
Range encompasses the southern Cascades and Sierra Nevada of California, from Shasta County to Tulare County (Kuchta and Tan 2006); T. sierrae hybridizes with T. torosa in the southern Sierra Nevada (Kaweah River area) (Kuchta 2007).
Occurrences Comments
This species is represented by many and/or large occurrences throughout most of the range.
Threat Impact Comments
Locally, population have been reduced or eliminated as a result of habitat degradation or loss caused by conversion of habitat to human uses and to a much lesser degree by large-scale commercial exploitation (Jennings and Hayes 1994). Many are killed on roads as they move between uplands and aquatic breeding sites. Introduced fishes likely have a negative impact in some bodies of water inhabited by this species.
Ecology & Habitat

Habitat

Breeding occurs in streams, ponds, and reservoirs, and terrestrial individuals occupy various adjacent upland habitats such as grassland, woodland, and forest (Storer 1925, Petranka 1998, Stebbins 2003, Kuchta 2005). Eggs are attached to sticks, undersides of stones, or vegetation in flowing or nonflowing water.
Terrestrial Habitats
Forest/WoodlandForest - MixedWoodland - MixedShrubland/chaparralSavannaGrassland/herbaceous
Palustrine Habitats
TEMPORARY POOLRiparian
Other Nations (1)
United StatesN4
ProvinceRankNative
CaliforniaSNRYes
Roadless Areas (30)
California (30)
AreaForestAcres
Bald RockPlumas National Forest4,675
Bucks LakePlumas National Forest680
Devil GulchSierra National Forest30,490
Devils RockShasta-Trinity National Forest16,209
Duncan CanyonTahoe National Forest8,621
EagleStanislaus National Forest16,116
East GirardShasta-Trinity National Forest27,894
Ferguson RidgeSierra National Forest6,104
Granite ChiefTahoe National Forest6,546
Grizzly PeakPlumas National Forest6,222
Grouse LakesTahoe National Forest19,085
IshiLassen National Forest21,805
Jennie LakeSequoia National Forest2,388
Kettle Mtn.Shasta-Trinity National Forest4,589
Kings RiverSierra National Forest52,999
Middle ForkPlumas National Forest29,278
Middle YubaTahoe National Forest7,379
Mill CreekLassen National Forest7,587
North Fork American RiverTahoe National Forest38,495
North Fork Middle Fork American RiverTahoe National Forest11,245
North MountainStanislaus National Forest7,856
Oat Mtn.Sequoia National Forest12,223
Polk SpringsLassen National Forest9,466
PyramidEldorado National Forest24,347
RubiconEldorado National Forest4,872
San JoaquinSierra National Forest22,474
ShuteyeSierra National Forest7,313
Sycamore SpringsSierra National Forest10,015
Trumbull PeakStanislaus National Forest6,164
West GirardShasta-Trinity National Forest37,516
References (17)
  1. Anzalone, C. R., L. B. Kats, and M. S. Gordon. 1998. Effects of solar UV-B radiation on embryonic development in HYLA CADAVERINA, HYLA REGILLA, and TARICHA TOROSA. Conservation Biology 12:646-653.
  2. Collins, J. T. 1990. Standard common and current scientific names for North American amphibians and reptiles. 3rd ed. Society for the Study of Amphibians and Reptiles. Herpetological Circular No. 19. 41 pp.
  3. Crother, B. I. (editor). 2012. Scientific and standard English names of amphibians and reptiles of North America north of Mexico, with comments regarding confidence in our understanding. 7th edition. SSAR Herpetological Circular 39:1-92.
  4. 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]
  5. 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
  6. Gamradt, S. C., and L. B. Katz. 1996. The effect of introduced crayfish and mosquitofish on California newts (Taricha torosa). Conservation Biology 10:1155-1162.
  7. Jennings, M. R., and M. P. Hayes. 1994. Amphibian and reptile species of special concern in California. Final Report submitted to the California Department of Fish and Game, Inland Fisheries Division. Contract No. 8023. 255 pp.
  8. Jones, L.L.C., W. P. Leonard, and D. H. Olson, editors. 2005. Amphibians of the Pacific Northwest. Seattle Audubon Society, Seattle, Washington. xii + 227 pp.
  9. Kuchta, S. R. 2005. <i>Taricha torosa</i> (Rathke, 1833). California newt. Pages 904-908 in M. Lannoo, editor. Amphibian declines: the conservation status of United States species. University of California Press, Berkeley.
  10. Kuchta, S. R. 2007. Contact zones and species limits: hybridization between lineages of the California newt, <i>Taricha torosa</i>, in the southern Sierra Nevada. Herpetologica 63::332-350.
  11. Kuchta, S. R., and A.-M. Tan. 2006. Lineage diversification on an evolving landscape: phylogeography of the California newt, <i>Taricha torosa </i>(Caudata: Salamandridae). Biological Journal of the Linnean Society 89:213-239.
  12. Nussbaum, R.A. and Brodie, E.D. Jr. 1981. Taricha torosa. Catalogue of American Amphibians and Reptiles. 273:1-4.
  13. Petranka, J. W. 1998. Salamanders of the United States and Canada. Smithsonian Institution Press, Washington, D.C.
  14. Stebbins, R. C. 1951. Amphibians of western North America. University of California Press, Berkeley. 539 pp.
  15. Stebbins, R. C. 2003. A field guide to western reptiles and amphibians. Third edition. Houghton Mifflin Company, Boston.
  16. Storer, T. I. 1925. A synopsis of the Amphibia of California. University of California Publications in Zoology 27:1-342.
  17. Tan, A.-M., and D. B. Wake. 1995. MtDNA phylogeography of the California newt, TARICHA TOROSA (Caudata, Salamandridae). Molecular Phylogenetics and Evolution 4:383-394.