California Reptiles & Amphibians

Plethodon elongatus - Del Norte Salamander

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Range in California: Red

Dot-locality Range Map

Adult, Del Norte County

Adult with juvenile, Del Norte County

Adult, Smith River, Del Norte County

Red-backed adult, Humboldt County

Juvenile, Del Norte County

Juvenile, Smith River, Del Norte County

Adult, South Fork Smith River, Del Norte County

Adult from coastal redwood forest, Del Norte County © Alan Barron

Juvenile, Del Norte County
© Alan Barron

Adult, Patrick's Creek, Del Norte County © Alan Barron

Adult, Crescent City, Del Norte County
© Alan Barron

Adult, Del Norte County © Alan Barron

Adult, Patrick's Creek, Del Norte County © Alan Barron

Adult, Klamath River, Del Norte County © Alan Barron

Juvenile, 2,500 ft., Del Norte County © Alan Barron

Juveniles, Klamath River, Del Norte County © Alan Barron

Habitat, small forest creek,
Del Norte County

Habitat, redwood forest,
Del Norte County

Habitat, creek in redwood forest,
Del Norte County

Habitat, Smith River, Del Norte County

Habitat, rocky talus, Del Norte County

Habitat, Humboldt County

Description

Size

Adults are 2 3/8 - 3 inches long (6 - 7.6 cm) from snout to vent, and 4 1/3 - 6 inches (11 - 15 cm) in total length.

Appearance

A slender, elongated plethodontid salamander which breathes through its thin, moist skin. Short limbs, nasolabial grooves, and usually 18 costal grooves with 5-6 intercostal folds between adpressed limbs. Toes are short and slightly webbed. Color is solid dark brown or black with an even-edged reddish brown dorsal stripe extending from the head to the tail tip. Often, especially with older animals, this stripe is missing and the body is solid brown or black. The belly is dark gray with light gray flecks. Juveniles resemble adults, but have more conspicuous dorsal stripes.

Behavior

Active on rainy or wet nights, fall through spring. Inactive in summer, retreating underground, though I have seen them in shaded areas under wet streamside rocks in the dry summer months. Recapture studies have shown that P. elongatus moves very little in a single year - within a 7.5 square meter area.

Diet

Eats small invertebrates.

Reproduction

Mating occurs from fall to spring. Females lay eggs in underground nests in spring or early summer and brood them until fall. Young hatch fully formed and typically remain underground until the following spring.

Range

Found along the coast in far northwest California from near Orick, Humboldt County, east to near the Seiad Valley, Sisiyou county and Salyer, Trinity County, and north into southwest Oregon.

Habitat

Terrestrial, strongly associated with moist talus in humid shaded and closed-canopy coastal forests of mixed hardwoods and conifers, but also found in rock rubble of old riverbeds, and under bark and logs on forest floor, usually in rocky areas. Especially attracted to older forests.

Taxonomic Notes

Some researchers consider Plethodon elongatus to include two subspecies, P. e. elongatus, the Del Norte Salamander, and P. e. stormi, the Siskiyou Mountains Salamander. Others recognize P. stormi as a separate species as we do here.

Recent genetics studies have determined that the Del Norte Salamander consists of two lineages at the southern end of its range which are different from populations north of Humboldt County. These lineages might be described as new species in the near future. (Hartwell, et. al, 2005)

Conservation Issues (Conservation Status)

A California Species of Special Concern.

Taxonomy
Family	Plethodontidae	Lungless Salamanders
Genus	Plethodon	Woodland Salamanders
Species	elongatus	Del Norte Salamander
Original Description
Van Denburgh, 1916 - Proc. California Acad. Sci., Ser. 4, Vol. 6, No. 7, p. 216 from Original Description Citations for the Reptiles and Amphibians of North America © Ellin Beltz
Meaning of the Scientific Name
Plethodon: Greek - fullness or full of & teeth , refers to the number of vomerine & pre-vomerine teeth. elongatus: Latin - slender, attenuated. from Scientific and Common Names of the Reptiles and Amphibians of North America - Explained © Ellin Beltz
Alternate Names
Plethodon elongatus elongatus - Striped Del Norte Salamander
Similar Neighboring Salamanders
Plethodon stormi - Siskiyou Mountains Salamander Plethodon dunni - Dunn's Salamander Plethodon asupak - Scott Bar Salamander
More Information and References
Natureserve Explorer California Dept. of Fish and Game AmphibiaWeb Hartwell H. Welsh, Jr. - Jones, Lawrence L. C. , William P. Leonard, Deanna H. Olson, editors. Amphibians of the Pacific Northwest. Seattle Audubon Society, 2005. 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.

Conservation Status
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.
Organization	Status Listing
U.S. Endangered Species Act (ESA)	None
California Endangered Species Act (CESA)	None
California Department of Fish and Game	DFG:SSC	California Species of Special Concern
Bureau of Land Management	None
USDA Forest Service	None
Natureserve Global Conservation Status Ranks	G4	Apparently Secure
World Conservation Union - IUCN Red List	IUCN:NT	Near Threatened