California slender salamander

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Batrachoseps attenuatus
)

California slender salamander

Least Concern  (IUCN 3.1)[1]
Scientific classification Edit this classification
Domain: Eukaryota
Kingdom: Animalia
Phylum: Chordata
Class: Amphibia
Order: Urodela
Family: Plethodontidae
Genus: Batrachoseps
Species:
B. attenuatus
Binomial name
Batrachoseps attenuatus

The California slender salamander (Batrachoseps attenuatus) is a lungless

endemic
amphibians in the state.

In 2001 Elizabeth L. Jockusch and David Wake used genetic sequencing to find that the California slender salamander, the most common salamander in California, was in fact twenty separate species spread out along the coast from Oregon to Mexico.[3][4] Presently, the California slender salamander is viewed as one of the nineteen species of the genus Batrachoseps, each of which is characterized by four toes on each foot. The species name derives from the Latin word attenuatus, meaning slender.[2]

Morphology

The California slender salamander has a narrow head and body.

The shape of this

Ventral
marking is dark with minute whitish dotting. B. attenuatus is characterized by moist skin of notable thinness.

In general,

Batrachoseps and fish of the genus Maurolicus along with closely related species.[5][6]

Distribution

California slender salamander, Copeland Creek vicinity, Fairfield Osborn Preserve.

The principal range is within the coastal ranges of Northern California from

California Central Valley
.

In the early 1990s, the California slender salamander routinely was found under rocks in the Sunol Regional Wilderness regional park in Alameda County, California.[8] They have also been found in cisterns on Alcatraz Island.

Habitat

riparian habitat, Sonoma Mountain
.

Batrachoseps attenuatus is found in several plant communities including

montane hardwood conifer, grasslands and riparian zone; occurrence ranges from valley floors to mid-elevation in coastal ranges. From approximately October to March, the California slender salamander seeks cover near streams and other moist environments. This batrachian often may be found resting beneath leaf litter or other woodland detritus, or beneath rotting logs or rocks providing a wet environment. The slender shape of the California slender salamander is well adapted to penetration of earthworm or termite burrows to forage for prey, usually consisting of tiny arthropods such as mites, spiders and snails.[9] In the dry season commencing in April this species seeks out tunnels or burrows, including rodent
homes, to achieve a cooler and moister retreat than available at the surface.

California slender salamanders have demonstrated an ability to survive in some urban and suburban environments. For example, in November 1996, San Francisco Bay Area homeowners reported finding trapped and desiccated California slender salamanders in their sunken bricked patio.[10] Homeowners in the same area reported finding California slender salamanders in their yard in 2004. California slender salamanders have been found next to Las Trampas Creek in June 2019.[11]

Behavior and reproduction

From fall to spring the California slender salamander is active on the ground surface, foraging under leaf litter and in tunnels created by a variety of other fauna; however, activity is heightened in intervals of light rain and immediately thereafter. From May to October,

eggs, but five to ten different females may use the exact oviposition site;[13]
in any case, hatching occurs around March or April, somewhat later in the extreme northern part of the range.

A variety of animals prey upon the California slender salamander, including larger

ringneck snake
are thought to be major predators of Batrachoseps attenuatus. In terms of its own predation, the California slender salamander can out-compete other salamander species in its specialized niche of searching for food in narrow tunnels.

Protection

California

Although the state of California does not specifically protect the California slender salamander, several groups have proposed it. For example, in 1992, the

Marin County landscape painters, attempted to save the California slender salamander habitat in the Oakwood Valley portion of the Golden Gate National Recreation Area by putting on an art show and sale to benefit the Oakwood Valley Restoration Project.[15]

Oregon

The state of Oregon has taken seriously their duty to protect the California slender salamander. In 2002, the

nongame wildlife by making it illegal to hunt, trap, pursue, kill, take, catch, angle for, or have in possession, either dead or alive, whole or in part, a California slender salamander.[16] In 2003, the Natural Heritage Advisory Council to the Oregon State Land Board identified the California slender salamanders residing in Winchuck Slope[17] as part of Oregon's natural heritage that needed to be conserved.[18]

See also

Wikimedia Commons has media related to Batrachoseps attenuatus.

References

  1. ^ Hammerson, G. 2004. Batrachoseps attenuatus. 2006 IUCN Red List of Threatened Species. Archived June 27, 2014, at the Wayback Machine Downloaded on 23 July 2007.
  2. ^ a b Stebbins, Robert C. (2003). A Field Guide to Western Reptiles and Amphibians, 3rd Edition. Houghton Mifflin Company,
  3. ^ Applied Genetics News. (July 1, 2001). Genomics: Biological Diversity Vaster than Supposed. Volume 21; Issue 12. (In the full article, writing, "Wake, an expert on amphibians, especially salamanders and frogs, is turning up new species seemingly under every log. Even in areas that supposedly have been combed thoroughly such as Yosemite and Sequoia National Parks in California, Wake and his colleagues are finding new species as part of a survey commissioned by the National Park Service. Wake and his graduate students found that the California slender salamander, Batrachoseps attenuatus, the most common salamander in the state, turns out to be 20 separate species spread out along the coast from Oregon to Mexico. In 1997, he found one new species in the San Gabriel Mountains outside Los Angeles, and last year found another in San Simeon.")
  4. doi:10.1046/j.1095-8312.2002.00071.x
    .
  5. S2CID 41287948
    .
  6. S2CID 12916049
    .
  7. California Department of Fish and Game
    , May 2, 1988
  8. San Jose Mercury News
    . [From a Little Acorn, Mighty Knowledge Grows; Students Solve some Mysteries of Nature at Sunol.] Section: The Weekly, Part II. Pg. 6.
  9. JSTOR 3891309
    .
  10. Contra Costa Times
    . (Nov. 30, 1997). Delicate Salamanders need Shelter from Sun. News section, page A02. (writing, "Last year about this time we started finding worm salamanders (often desiccated) in our sunken bricked patio.")
  11. Contra Costa Times
    . 'A Whole Other World is Bustling about your Yard. News section, page A02. (writing, "I decided to finally do away with the old wooden flower box that's been sitting on my rear patio next to the lawn for at least seven years. I scooped out the contents down to the plastic lining and lifted the box. The rotted bottom stayed put, and guess what I found? An entire community living on that rotten piece of wood! There were earthworms, slugs, pill bugs and, best of all, salamanders! One big chunky brown one, and about six tiny colorful ones with minuscule legs -- California slender salamanders, according to my field guide. I carried the big salamander over to a nice, cool, moist area at the north edge of the house, then carefully lifted the rotten piece of wood and carried it over to the same area. I relocated the entire community; I hope they like their new digs!").
  12. ^ Larry Serpa and Lynn Lozier, Fairfield Osborn Preserve: Natural History and Ecology (1981)
  13. JSTOR 1436881
    .
  14. ^ Keeler, Guy. (Dec. 19, 1992) The Fresno Bee. Free oak booklet. Home section, pg. F1.
  15. ^ Hamlin, Jessie. (Oct. 17, 1999). San Francisco Chronicle. Coming Up - What's New This Week: ART: Visions of Preservation. Sunday Datebook section, Page 11.
  16. ^ Oregon Regulation Text. (July 30, 2002). Added additional lamprey species to the protected species list: (B)(iv) Amphibians: California slender salamander (Batrachoseps attenuatus). Adm. Order No.: DFW 78-2002; Filed with Sec. of State: 7-30-2002; Certified to be Effective: 7-30-02; Notice Publication Date: 6-1-02; Rules Amended: 635-044-0130.
  17. ^ Winchuck Slope is a Natural Heritage Conservation Area (NHCA) in Oregon.
  18. ^ Oregon Regulation Text. (Nov. 1, 2003). 2003 Oregon Natural Heritage Plan. Archived 2006-09-07 at the Wayback Machine Page 47.

External links

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