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AMPHIBIA:
CAUDATA: PLETHODONTIDAE: Batrachoseps
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Batrachoseps pacificus
Cope, 1865
Pacific slender salamander
Text
& photos by Dr. Robert Sprackland. At right is a specimen from
the dry pine forest at the Pacific Grove entrance to 17-mile Drive,
Monterey County, CA.
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Range:
Central coastal California south of
Santa Cruz, south to below Santa Barbara.
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Diagnosis:
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Description:
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Natural History:
This is a secretive, fossorial species that spends most of the year
deep underground. During the wet season (November-April) they live
beneath boards and logs where humidity is high and a food supply of
tiny insects is plentiful.
A pacific slender salamander taken at
Asilomar Conference Center, Pacific Grove, CA. This amphibian was found under a board at the base of the north side of a sand dune
along the beach.
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Reproduction: Like
other plethodontids, this is an egg-laying species in which lays
eggs under logs, females wrap around and guard the clutch, and
larvae undergo metamorphosis in the egg prior to hatching.
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Taxonomy & Relationships: The
genus Batrachoseps is made of many cryptic species (species
that are virtually impossible to tell apart anatomically). Much of
the taxonomy has been based on analysis of skin proteins.
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Variation:
Above: a bright red backed phase
of the Pacific slender salamander from the Bonny Doon region of
Santa Cruz, CA, elevation 2300 feet. Normal brown backed specimens,
such as seen below, were common at the same site. The specimen below
was photographed at Asilomar Conference Center, Monterey County, CA.
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Additional Comments:
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Type Specimen:
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Literature:
Click on book to order.
Petranka,
James. 1998. Salamanders of the United States and Canada.
Smithsonian Institution Press. ISBN: 1-56098-828-2. NOT AVAILABLE
FOR REVIEW.
Stebbins,
Robert. 1985. A field guide to western reptiles and amphibians.
Houghton Mifflin Co. ISBN: 0-395-38253-X
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