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Adult, Kern County |
Adult, Kern County |
Adult, Kern County |
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Adult, Kern County |
Adult, Kern County |
Adult, Kern County |
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Underside of adult, Kern County |
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Comparison of B. relictus (bottom) and B. gregarius (top). Note the larger, more robust body and limbs on B. relictus. © Brad Alexander |
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When a salamander is feeling threatened, it will sometimes drop its tail. This is referred to as caudal autotomy. Once removed from the body, the tail will wiggle frantically for several minutes, distracting a predator long enough for the salamander to crawl away slowly, or to remain still enough that it is no longer visible to the enemy.
In the first four pictures of the series above, an adult Relictual Slender Salamander from Kern County was photographed as it was writhing about, shaking its tail rapidly, until it finally broke off and continued wiggling on its own. The end of the detached tail is also shown above.
This tail detachment does not harm the salamander. It will survive and grow a new tail, but the salamander is at a disadvantage since it has lost an important defense mechanism, as well as energy stored in the tail, and any perceived size advantage it may have had in protecting its territory or attracting a mate.
Always handle salamanders (and lizards) carefully and avoid stressing an animal unnecessarily to prevent the tail from breaking off.
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Habitat |
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Habitat, small trickle in evergreen forest, 5,700 ft., Kern County |
Habitat, Kern County |
Habitat, Kern County |
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Description |
| Size |
| Adults are 1 3/8 - 1 7/8 inches long (3.5 - 4.7 cm) from snout to vent. |
| Appearance |
| A small plethodontid salamander, which breathes through smooth moist thin skin. 16-20 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.) Color is blackish brown with a reddish, yellowish, or dark brown dorsal stripe which is often not visible in large animals. |
| Behavior |
| Most Batrachoseps are active on rainy or wet nights when temperatures are moderate, fall through spring, retreating underground when the soil dries or when air temperature drops to near freezing. At higher elevations, activity may be restricted to spring and early summer and early fall. Found under rocks, logs, bark, and other debris. Batrachoseps species, when disturbed, may coil up and remain still, then uncoil quickly and spring away, repeatedly bouncing over the ground. The tail is easily broken off, but it can be regenerated. Batrachoseps are generally sit-and-wait predators. |
| Diet |
| Eats a variety of small invertebrates. |
| Reproduction |
| Batrachoseps typically lay eggs in moist places on land. Young hatch fully formed. |
| Range |
| Endemic to California. Occurs from the lower Kern River Canyon to the Tule River and Kern River highland drainages. It is also known from one location on the western edge of the Kern Plateau east of the Kern River. B. relictus is the common high elevation Batrachoseps species in the southern Sierra Nevada mountains. |
| Habitat |
| The old type locality was at 730 m and other animals were found from as low as 500 m in the Kern Canyon in rocky areas with scanty tree cover consisting mostly of oaks with scattered pines and buckeyes and sycamores in creek bottoms. Outside the canyon, it occurs from 1200 - 2500 m in heavily forested areas of mixed conifers and deciduous oaks. |
| Taxonomic Notes |
| B. relictus was described in 1968, then reduced to a subspecies of B. pacificus in 1980. The species name was reinstated with the description of several new species of Batrachoseps in the Sierra Nevada by Jockush, Wale, and Janev in 1998. The 1968 description referred to compound group of animals from a wide range in the Sierras, which includes several of the new animals described in 1998. But since no specimens from the 1968 type locality in the lower Kern River Canyon have been found since 1971, the authors of the 1998 paper described animals from from the north and west sides of the Kern River. |
| Conservation Issues (Conservation Status) |
| No longer found in some areas where formerly common. |
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Taxonomy |
| Family |
Plethodontidae |
Lungless Salamanders |
| Genus |
Batrachoseps |
Slender Salamanders |
Species
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relictus |
Relictual Slender Salamander |
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Original Description |
Brame and Murray, 1968 - Sci. Bull. Nat. Hist. Mus. Los Angeles Co., No. 4, p. 5.
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.
relictus: Latin - to leave behind, referring to a relict distribution.
from Scientific and Common Names of the Reptiles and Amphibians of North America - Explained © Ellin Beltz
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Alternate Names |
Formerly recognized as Batrachoseps pacificus - Pacific Slender Salamander
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Similar Neighboring Salamanders |
Batrachoseps kawia
Batrachoseps regius
Batrachoseps robustus
Batrachoseps simatus
Batrachoseps gregarious
Batrachoseps sp. Fairview/Upper Kern Canyon
Breckenridge Mountain Batrachoseps
Batrachoseps stebbensi
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More Information and References |
Natureserve Explorer
California Dept. of Fish and Game
AmphibiaWeb
Salamander Diversity in the Kern Valley Region
Jockusch, E. L., D. B. Wake, and K. P. Yanev. "New species of slender salamanders, Batrachoseps (Amphibia: Plethodontidae), from the Sierra Nevada of California." Contributions in Science, Natural History Museum of Los Angeles County, #472 1998.
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.
Bartlett, R. D. & Patricia P. Bartlett. Guide and Reference to the Amphibians of Western North America (North of Mexico) and Hawaii. University Press of Florida, 2009.
Bishop, Sherman C. Handbook of Salamanders. Cornell University Press, 1943.
Lannoo, Michael (Editor). Amphibian Declines: The Conservation Status of United States Species. University of California Press, June 2005.
Petranka, James W. Salamanders of the United States and Canada. Smithsonian Institution, 1998.
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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.
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Organization
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Status Listing
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| U.S. Endangered Species Act (ESA) |
None |
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| California Endangered Species Act (CESA) |
None |
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| California Department of Fish and Game |
DFG:SSC |
California Species of Special Concern |
| Bureau of Land Management |
None |
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| USDA Forest Service |
USFS:S |
Sensitive |
| Natureserve Global Conservation Status Ranks |
G2 S2 |
Imperiled |
World Conservation Union - IUCN Red List
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IUCN:DD |
Data Deficient |
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