Reptile & Amphibian Forums

Can someone tell me what kind of slender salamander this is? I found it in Riverside County, CA, and haven’t been able to ID it from the pictures I’ve seen on the internet. I’m guessing pacific but not sure. Any help would be great.

Based on locality, it has to be either B.m.major or B.nigriventris.

RUSS

Where exactly did you find it?
-----
Firehouse Herps

Eastern Riverside County, CA

Can you narrow it down a bit? What kind of habitat?
-----
Firehouse Herps

Rocky hillside, typical rosy habitat.

Where exactly? Riverside County is a huge place.
-----
Firehouse Herps

I'm sorry, it's actually extreme Western Riverside County, near the city of Riverside. Sorry about that, hope that didn't screw you up.

From the picture and the location you gave it is most probably a Garden Slender Salamander, Batrachoseps major major, though they usually have a little bit if rust coloration in them. I believe they are the only Slender Salamanders in that immediate area and the picture does give me that impression.

Randy
-----
Firehouse Herps

Thanks for the input. The garden slenders I've seen have always been about three times this size and more green brown. I beleive this to be an adult of it's species, and not a garden, unless someone has actually seen juvie gardens, I have to believe that this is something other. I have seen a handful of slenders of this kind in the local hills over the years, but until now I just assumed that it was a pacific or Cal. type. Thanks again for putting forth the effort.

The Garden Slender Salamander, B m major, is the Pacific Slender Salamander. It used to be the subspecies of the Pacific Slender Salamander, B pacificus, found in your area but it has recently been placed in its own taxon along with the Desert Slender Salamander. The Pacific Slender Salamander is now known as the Channel Island Slender Salamander, B pacificus, (a former subspecies) with no other subspecies currently recognized. The California Slender Salamander, B attenuatus, does not range into Southern California. The only other species found near the locality you mentioned is the Black-Bellied, B nigriventris, but it does not strike me as being one. The Desert Slender Salamander, B m aridus, is found in only a couple of locations near Palm Desert, Hidden Palm Canyon (closed to the public) and Guadalupe Creek. These Salamanders are endangered and fully protected but I think they are quite a distance from your locality. If it isn't B m major or B nigriventris (doubtful) I am stumped.

Randy
-----
Firehouse Herps

Thank you very much for your input, garden form it must be. I have only seen a few of those in my back yard and they were a lot larger and solid colored, variation's I guess. I have only seen the smaller salamanders before out in the field, so I didn't figure it to be a Garden as I know it. I hope to find more to photograph so I can document the variations for gp, can you offer any suggestions on doing this properly so as to get all the info needed to identify a species more accurately. Thanks