These X's indicate museum records for turtles seen in the vicinity of a specific island.
Sea turtles records are scarce, but their presence is possible in the vicinity of any island, especially in southern California.

Loggerhead Sea Turtle

Green Sea Turtle

Leatherback Sea Turtle

Olive Ridley Sea Turtle

Olive Ridleys have been recorded along the coast and could also be found near any island.

Pacific Hawksbill Sea Turtle

There are no records for this turtle, but its presence is still possible.

Notes
X	Indicates that there is at east one museum record and specimen collected from the island. If there is a mention in a herpetology book or I have been given a report of a personal observation from the island, there will be a numbered link to explain the source. In the instances where I have not yet found a record, that does not necessarily mean that one does not exist, only that my searches have failed to find one. I will add new species to the list as I learn of them.
#1	I have not yet found a museum record to confirm the presence of the California Slender Salamander on East Marin island. It is listed as common on the Marin Islands in Natural History of the Islands of California. *
#2	I have not yet found a museum record to confirm the presence of the Sierran Treefrog on Brooks Island. Natural History of the Islands of California * states that it has been found there but may not be reproducing.
#3	Three museum specimens of California Red-legged Frogs were collected from Santa Cruz Island in 1919, but the species is probably no longer present on the island.
#4	I have not yet found a museum record to confirm the presence of the California Red-legged Frog on Santa Rosa island. It is listed as "extirpated (?)" on the island in Schoenherr 2003* and Stebbins 2003** shows it on the island in the range map for the species.
#5	Introduced. I have not found any museum records to confirm the presence of this species on the island. In a 2005 survey, Backlin et. al.*** state "The introduced bullfrog appears to be abundant in most of the reservoirs across the island (John Floberg, personal communication). All large standing water on the island should be surveyed for bullfrogs to better understand their current distribution across the island, at which time a bullfrog eradication plan should be developed and implemented to remove or reduce this threat to the native herpetofauna."
#6	I have not yet found a museum record to confirm the presence of the Northern Leopard Frog on Santa Catalina island. It is listed as "Introduced (not established)" on the island in Schoenherr 2003. Stebbins and McGinnis 2012* also mention its presence on the island. In a 2005 survey, Backlin et. al.* state "The leopard frog (Rana sp.) is an introduced frog that has been reported from 1.5 km east of Isthmus Cove (Rorabaugh et al., 2002) most likely from Summit Reservoir on Santa Catalina Island. It is know from a single specimen and is unclear if other leopard frogs currently inhabit the island. This frog’s presence would be the result of a released pet as there are no dispersal routes for this animal to colonize naturally on the island. The results of this frog establishing on the island would be similar to that of the bullfrog. This frog is a voracious predator and could aid in the decline of any native aquatic animals."
#7	I have not yet found a museum record to confirm the presence of the Northern Rubber Boa on Angel island. It is listed as present on the island in Schoenherr 2003*
#8	I have not yet found a museum record to confirm the presence of the Pacific Gophersnake on Angel island. It is listed as present on the island in Schoenherr 2003* and there are several photographs on iNatualist that confirm their presence.
#9	I have not yet found a museum record to confirm the presence of the Santa Cruz Island Gophersnake on San Miguel island. It is listed as present on the island in Schoenherr 2003* from an old unverified record.
#10	I have not yet found a museum record to confirm the presence of the Southern Pacific Rattlesnake on Santa Cruz island. It is listed as present on the island in Stebbins 2003 **.
#11	This snake is known to inhabit Santa Cruz Island from a specimen collected in 1939, but the current status of the species on the island is unclear.
#12	I have not yet found a museum record to confirm the presence of Ensatina on Angel island. Schoenherr 2003* mentions that there is an unverified report of the species from the island.
#13	I have not yet found a museum record to confirm the presence of the Coast Range Fence Lizard on East Marin island. It is listed as common on the island in Schoenherr 2003*.
#14	There is one record for a Pond Turtle from Brooks Island, and it is probably only a waif that was not established on the island. It is possible that it was washed into the bay in a storm and landed on the island. Stebbins 2003** also shows a dot on his range map showing the presence of this species on one of the northern Channel Islands, but there is no comment in the range description of the text about it.
#15	The presence of Lampropeltis zonata on Santa Catalina Island was confirmed when an Island Fox was videotaped preying on a California Mountain Kingsnake on Catalina Island on April 26th, 2015. A still photo was posted on Facebook and might still be available. Robert W. Hansen, Richard Cazares, and Alexus Cazares. Herpetological Review 46(4), 2015 A video file of the April 2015 discovery has been put in the Los Angeles County Natural History Museum. I have not yet found any other museum records to confirm the presence of the California Mountain Kingsnake on Santa Catalina island. It is listed from an "old record" in Schoenherr 2003. In a 2005 survey, Backlin et. al.** state that "The California mountain kingsnake (Lampropeltis zonata) has been reported a few times from the island. C. F. Holder (1910) first reported it on the island between Little Harbor and the Isthmus and described it as “... a beautiful coral snake with alternate rings of red and black”. Most recently a photograph was taken by Scott Panzer of an animal at Black Jack Campground (Figure 2). It is unclear if there is a breeding population of California mountain kingsnakes on the island or if these animals are escaped pets. We recommend focused surveys for this species in the future." (Follow this link to download a .pdf file of this report which includes Scott Panzer's picture.)
#16	I have not yet found a museum record to confirm the presence of the Desert Night Lizard on Santa Catalina island. It is listed from "one record of dubious validity" in Schoenherr 2003. In a 2005 survey in which they did not find any desert night lizards, Backlin et. al.** state "The desert night lizard (Xantusia vigilis) is known from a single record, collected in 1952 from the Wrigley Botanical Garden in Avalon (Savage, 1952). This lizard most likely does not currently occur on Santa Catalina Island and the single record may represent an escaped pet.
#17	Formerly known as the Santa Catalina Island Garter Snake. According to Schoenherr 2003* it is currently known to occur only along a "1-mile (1.6-km) stretch of permanet flow in Cottonwood Canyon that includes a small reservoir. There is very little appropriate habitat for this semiaquatic snake on Santa Catalina, and it may be on the verge of extirpation. The total population may include no more than twenty-five to thrity individuals, and they are threatened by a variety of predators, including the introduced Bullfrog...." The snake is described as having "...a unique color pattern. It lacks distinctive stripes and is a deep olive brown with a pale, buff-colored chin and lips. On the mainland this pattern is not representative of the species as a whole except for a population that occurs near Lompoc in Santa Barbara County. ... It is also interesting that this color pattern closely matches that of the Lower California Garter Snake, Thamnophis digueti, found in a few bodies of fresh water in south-central Baja California."
#18	The subspecies of Southern Alligator Lizard found on San Nicolas Island has been unclear. Stebbins 2003** shows it as unknown. A survey of herps on Navy lands shows it as E. m. webbii - San Diego Alligator Lizard, an introduced species. Christopher E. Petersen, Robert E. Lovich, and Sarah A. Stallings. Amphibian and Reptile Biodiversity on United States Department of Defense Installations. Department of Defense Legacy Resource Management Program Final Report August, 2017 (pages 46 and 80)
#19	Coluber constrictor is known from Santa Cruz Island from old records from 1919 and 1948. Stebbins 2003 indicates that the status of the species on the island is questionable, and no mention is made of it in Stebbins & McGinnis 2012**. However, you can see two recent pictures taken of racers found on the island which shows that they are definitely present, here.
#20	In a 2005 survey, Backlin et. al.*** state that "Even though we did not detect the arboreal salamanders (Aneides lugubris), a reproducing population may occur on the island. This species is known from one specimen collected in 1941 from Middle Ranch (Hilton, 1945). The island’s oak woodland habitat could potentially support a population of this species."
#21	The report by Backlin, et al *** states that the southern alligator lizard is not found on San Clemente Island. However there is a record of a specimen of Elgaria multicarinata in the San Diego Natural History Museum Herpetology Collection that was collected on San Clemente Island July 31st,1948 by Grant, Chapman - SDSNH Catalog # 18544.
#22	I have not found any records or information in print about racers or fence lizards inhabiting Red Rock Island. They are listed here as present on the island based on observations made on 8/6/17 that are documented by photgraphs on iNaturalist. (Accessed 12/13/18) It seems unlikely that there is a breeding population of racers on such a small island, so it's possible the snake is a waif that rafted or swam to the island, probably after a storm washed it into the bay.
#23	I have not found any records or information in print about Western fence lizards inhabiting Yerba Buena Island. They are listed here based on several observations and photographs documented on iNaturalist.
#24	There is one specimen from 2004 in the Santa Barbara Museum of Natural History, but it is labled "requires verification." Islapedia.com shows a picture of a gartersnake found in 2014 on Santa Roas with this comment: "Garter snakes have been observed in Water Canyon on a few occasions since 2014, but no specimens have been collected."
#25	Islapedia.com lists several records of specimens found on Ano Nuevo Island in 1918, but it is not known if the species persists there.
#26	Islapedia.com lists this species on Santa Catalina Island, but does not show the source of the record.
#27	Shown in Stebbins, 2003.
#28	Personal observation by Alan D. Barron and Bradford R. Norman.
#29	"Stebbins, 1947-1956- his big western books) (MVZ Berkeley Collection" (Bradford R. Norman).
References * Schoenherr, Allan A, C. Robert Feldmeth, & Michael J. Emerson. Natural History of the Islands of California. The University of California Press. 2003. ** Stebbins, Robert C. A Field Guide to Western Reptiles and Amphibians. 3rd Edition. Houghton Mifflin Company, 2003. *** Backlin, Adam R., Sara L. Compton, Zsolt B. Kahancza, Robert N. Fisher U.S. Geological Survey Western Ecological Research Center. Baseline Biodiversity Survey for Santa Catalina Island: Herpetofauna and Ants with Remarks on Small Mammals and Others. Prepared for Catalina Island Conservancy. Final Report 2005. http://www.werc.usgs.gov/fileHandler.ashx?File=/Lists/Products/Attachments/3570/CatReport2004.pdf ****Stebbins, Robert C., and McGinnis, Samuel M. Field Guide to Amphibians and Reptiles of California: Revised Edition (California Natural History Guides) University of California Press, 2012. Islapedia - a comprehensive encyclopedia of information about all of California's Islands. https://www.islapedia.com/index.php?title=Welcome_to_Islapedia

Return to the Top