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Adult, Del Norte County |
Adult, Humboldt County |
Adult, Contra Costa County |
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Adult, Santa Cruz County |
Adult, Santa Cruz County |
Adult, Santa Cruz County |
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Adult, Contra Costa County,
coiled in defense after being disturbed. |
Adult, underside, Santa Cruz County |
Adult, Butte County
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Adult, Del Norte County |
Adult, Contra Costa County. When uncovered, slender salamanders are often found resting in this coiled position. |
Adult, Glenn County |
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3 different variatins of adult salamanders from Del Norte County © Alan Barron |
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Adult from Whaler Island, Del Norte County © Alan Barron |
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A Mendocino County adult found under a piece of bark with this Ensatina. |
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In Southern Santa Cruz County, the range of Batrachoseps gavilanensis overlaps that of B. attenuatus. The two species appear very similar, but you can see here that B. gavilanensis has proportionally larger fingers and toes. |
In the central Sierras, the range of Batrachoseps diabolicus overlaps that of B. attenuatus. The two species appear very similar, but this comparison shows that B. diabolicus has proportionally larger legs and toes (even though the salamanders are not of equal size.) |
A careful look underneath the fallen bark of this dead tree in Contra Costa County turned up one Arboreal Salamander, two Coast Range Newts, one Yellow-eyed Ensatina, and 12 California Slender Salamanders, illustrating how dead wood and bark on a forest floor is an important microhabitat for salamanders and other wildlife.
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Urban backyard habitat,
Alameda County |
Habitat, Butte County |
Habitat, Glenn County |

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Habitat, Mendocino County
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Habitat, Humboldt County |
Habitat, Del Norte County
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Description |
| Size |
| Adults are 1 1/4 - 1 7/8 inches long (3.2 - 4.7 cm) from snout to vent, 3 - 5 1/2 inches ( 7.5 - 14 cm) in total length. |
| Appearance |
| A small plethodontid salamander which breathes through smooth moist thin skin. 18 -21 costal grooves. Short limbs, a narrow head, long slender body, very long tail, and conspicuous costal and caudal grooves give this species the worm-like appearance typical of most Slender Salamanders. 4 toes on front and hind feet, also typical of Slender Salamanders. (Other California salamanders have 5 toes on the hind feet.) Variable in color. Generally black or dark above, with red, brown, yellow, or tan coloring forming a dorsal stripe, sometimes with a herringbone pattern. Black or dark ventrally, with fine white speckles. |
| Behavior |
| Active on rainy or wet nights when temperatures are moderate, beginning with the first fall rains until the spring or summer dry period. Retreats underground when the soil dries or when air temperature gets below freezing. Lives and lays eggs in moist places on land. When disturbed, may coil up and remain still, then uncoil quickly and spring away, repeatedly bouncing over the ground. Tail is easily broken off, but it can be regenerated. A sit-and-wait predator. |
| Diet |
| Diet consists of a variety of invertebrates. |
| Reproduction |
| Eggs are laid in fall and winter. Young hatch fully formed in winter and spring. Often use large communal nests. |
| Range |
| Endemic to California and extreme southwest Oregon. Occurs from central California south of the Bay Area in San Benito County, north along the coast and coast ranges into Oregon and in the foothills of the Sierra Nevada mountains from Butte County to Calaveras County. Isolated populations occur in scattered areas in the northern Central Valley and in Shasta County. |
| Habitat |
| Ranges along the coast from extreme southwest Oregon to San Benito County and in the foothills of the northern Sierra Nevada mountains and scattered locations in the Sacramento valley and in Shasta county. Found in a variety of habitats: chaparral, woodland, grassland, forests, urban yards, vacant lots, driftwood. Generally found in moist locations, under logs, rocks, bark, leaf litter, stumps, debris. Can be very abundant in an area. (I once found over two dozen adult salamanders along the edge of a house in an urban area where grass or vegetation contacted the foundation.) |
| Conservation Issues (Conservation Status) |
| None |
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Taxonomy |
| Family |
Plethodontidae |
Lungless Salamanders |
| Genus |
Batrachoseps |
Slender Salamanders |
Species
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attenuatus |
California Slender Salamander |
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Original Description |
Eschscholtz, 1833 - Zool. Atlas, Pt. 5, p. 1, pl. 21, figs. 1-14
from Original Description Citations for the Reptiles and Amphibians of North America © Ellin Beltz
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Meaning of the Scientific Name |
Batrachoseps: Greek - amphibian, frog lizard - describes lizard-like appearance.
attenuatus: Latin - slender, narrow.
from Scientific and Common Names of the Reptiles and Amphibians of North America - Explained © Ellin Beltz
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Alternate Names |
None
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Similar Neighboring Salamanders |
Batrachoseps diabolicus
Batrachoseps gregarius
Batrachoseps gavilanensis
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More Information and References |
Natureserve Explorer
California Dept. of Fish and Game
AmphibiaWeb
Stebbins, Robert C. A Field Guide to Western Reptiles and Amphibians. 3rd Edition. Houghton Mifflin Company, 2003.
Behler, John L., & F. Wayne King. The Audubon Society Field Guide to North American Reptiles and Amphibians. Alfred A. Knopf, 1992.
Bishop, Sherman C. Handbook of Salamanders. Cornell University Press, 1943.
Petranka, James W. Salamanders of the United States and Canada. Smithsonian Institution, 1998.
Corkran, Charlotte & Chris Thoms. Amphibians of Oregon, Washington, and British Columbia. Lone Pine Publishing, 1996.
Jones, Lawrence L. C. , William P. Leonard, Deanna H. Olson, editors. Amphibians of the Pacific Northwest. Seattle Audubon Society, 2005.
Leonard et. al. Amphibians of Washington and Oregon. Seattle Audubon Society, 1993.
Nussbaum, R. A., E. D. Brodie Jr., and R. M. Storm. Amphibians and Reptiles of the Pacific Northwest. Moscow, Idaho: University Press of Idaho, 1983.
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The following status listings come from the Special Animals List which is published several times each year by the California Department of Fish and Game.
This salamander is not included on the Special Animals List, meaning there are no significant conservation concerns for it in California according to the California Department of Fish and Game.
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Organization
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Status Listing
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| U.S. Endangered Species Act (ESA) |
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| California Endangered Species Act (CESA) |
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| California Department of Fish and Game |
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| Bureau of Land Management |
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| USDA Forest Service |
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| Natureserve Global Conservation Status Ranks |
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World Conservation Union - IUCN Red List
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