|
 |
 |
 |
| |
Sub-adult, Santa Clara County |
|
 |
 |
 |
Sub-adult, Santa Clara County |
Sub-adult, Sonoma County |
|
|
|
|
Juvenile, Marin County |
|
 |
 |
 |
Adult, Santa Cruz County |
Adult, Santa Cruz County |
Adult, Santa Cruz County |
 |
 |
 |
Adult, Sonoma County |
|
 |
 |
 |
Sub-adult, Santa Cruz County |
|
|
|
 |
Max Kelley found this adult eating a large rodent, possibly a Wood Rat, one late November day in San Mateo County. In this picture, only the rodent's long tail is still visible.
© Max Kelley |
Nancy Gribler discovered this large adult eating a Banana Slug one night in her Marin County back yard.
© Nancy Gribler |
Suzanne Cogen found this adult eating a Banana Slug at 3 PM in mid December in Sonoma County.
© Suzanne Cogen |
 |
 |
 |
|
Adult, found on a rock on an October afternoon in Marin County.
© William Mays |
Adult, found in shallow water in daylight, Santa Cruz County. © Scott Peden |
 |
 |
|
Small aquatic larva in water, Sonoma County |
|
Habitat |
|
 |
|
Habitat, San Mateo County
|
Habitat, San Mateo County |
Habitat, Sonoma County |
|
Description |
| Size |
| Adults are 2 1/2 to 6 4/5 inches long (6.25 - 17 cm) from snout to vent, 6.7 - 12 inches (17 - 30.5 cm) in total length. |
| Appearance |
| One of the largest terrestrial salamanders in North America, with a large robust body, a massive head, and stout limbs. Light reddish brown coloring above is overlaid with copper-colored marbling. The venter is whitish or dull yellow, usually unmarked. Transformed adults have 12 - 13 indistinct costal grooves. The tail is flattened from side to side to facilitate swimming. Stream-type larvae have tail fins that extend forward only to the hind limbs, often with heavy black mottling. Gills are short, bushy, and dull red. |
| Behavior and Natural History |
Little is known about the natural history of D. ensatus, much of which is presumed from studies of the similar D. tenebrosus. This salamander is nocturnal, but also active in daylight in wet conditions. Transformed animals forage on the forest floor on rainy nights, and during daylight in wet periods in winter. They can be found walking across roads on rainy nights, especially with the first heavy rains of the fall, usually in November. Adults are also found under cover objects such as rocks, logs and artificial cover.
Large adults are capable of delivering a painful bite and they often produce a vocal sound when threatened, which is a low rattling bark-like sound.
Neotenic adults which retain their gills and live in water are found in many populations. These gilled adults may outnumber transformed individuals. |
| Diet |
| Presumably, the diet consists of anything small enough for a salamander to overpower and eat, including slugs and other invertebrates, and small vertebrates such as salamanders, small rodents, and lizards. Aquatic larvae probably have a similar diet to the larvae of Dicamptodon tenebrosus, which consists of small aquatic invertebrates and small fish hatchlings. |
| Reproduction and Young |
Reproduction is aquatic. Breeding occurs in spring and fall. Adults move from land into the breeding creeks where they can be found under stones and logs.
Adults lay from 70 - 100 large, unpigmented eggs and attach them singly to rocks and logs underwater. In a laboratory, eggs hatched in nearly 5 months.
Larvae transform in probably around 18 months. Young larvae are found in still water near the shoreline, often under small rocks and leaf litter. Older larvae are found in the main stream channel. Larvae are more abundant than transformed adults. They can be found exposed in the water at night by shining a light in a stream. |
| Range |
| Endemic to California, found in two, possibly three isolated regions, from Mendocino County near Point Arena east into the coast rages into Lake and Glenn counties, south to Sonoma and Marin Counties, continuing south of the San Francisco Bay from San Mateo County to southern Santa Cruz County. Does not occur east of the SF Bay. There is an old unconfirmed sight record from Big Sur, Monterey County. |
| Habitat |
Occurs in wet coastal forests in or near clear, cold permanent and semipermanent streams and seepages. One population has been found inhabiting flowing water in a network of caves.
Sea level to near 3,000 ft. |
| Taxonomic Notes |
The species Dicamptodon ensatus was split into three species when evidence showed that salamanders from the south Bay area to Sonoma County were genetically distinct from those to the north and from animals in Idaho and Montana. The southern species became Dicamptodon ensatus - California Giant Salamander, the northern species became Dicamptodon tenebrosus - Coastal Giant Salamander, and the eastern species became Dicamptodon aterrimus - Idaho Giant Salamander.
According to a March 20th 2006 article in the Santa Cruz Sentinal, UC Santa Cruz biologist Barry Sinervo is studying a type of giant salamander that lives in a network of caves in Santa Cruz County. The salamanders, which are strictly aquatic and apparently blind, may prove to be a new species. |
| Conservation Issues (Conservation Status) |
| There is not much evidence to show that the current distribution of this species is different from the historical distribution, however extensive habitat alteration in its range has most likely destroyed some populations. Forest removal and road building near streams has reduced the number of larvae of the similar species Dicamptodon tenebrosus, while opening of the forest canopy over streams may also be temporarily beneficial to the larvae. |
|
|
Taxonomy |
| Family |
Dicamptodontidae |
Giant Salamanders |
| Genus |
Dicamptodon |
Pacific Giant Salamanders |
Species
|
ensatus |
California Giant Salamander |
|
Original Description |
Eschscholtz, 1833 - Zool. Atlas, Pt. 5, p. 6, pl. 22
from Original Description Citations for the Reptiles and Amphibians of North America © Ellin Beltz
|
|
Meaning of the Scientific Name |
Dicamptodon: Greek - two curved, bent teeth, referring to doubly curved teeth.
ensatus: Latin - sword-shaped, possibly refers to the pointed teeth.
from Scientific and Common Names of the Reptiles and Amphibians of North America - Explained © Ellin Beltz
|
|
Alternate Names |
Foremerly recognized as the species Dicamptodon ensatus - Pacific Giant Salamander
|
|
Related California Salamanders |
Coastal Giant Salamander
|
|
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.
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.
Jones, Lawrence L. C. , William P. Leonard, Deanna H. Olson, editors. Amphibians of the Pacific Northwest. Seattle Audubon Society, 2005.
|
|
|
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.
|
Organization
|
Status Listing
|
| U.S. Endangered Species Act (ESA) |
|
|
| California Endangered Species Act (CESA) |
|
|
| California Department of Fish and Game |
|
|
| Bureau of Land Management |
|
|
| USDA Forest Service |
|
|
| Natureserve Global Conservation Status Ranks |
|
|
World Conservation Union - IUCN Red List
|
|
|
|
|
