Reptile & Amphibian Forums

Hi, I found this picture tonight. I took it several years ago at my Caliveras County ranch, about the 2500' elevation. This individual was hiding under a half bark round at the edge of the chicken coup. I am posting it for your enjoyment and hoping to get an I.D. at the same time.

Foot Hill Reptiles

Nice shot! That's definitely a Pacific newt (Taricha species); I'm not sure which one you have in your area.

>>Hi, I found this picture tonight. I took it several years ago at my Caliveras County ranch, about the 2500' elevation. This individual was hiding under a half bark round at the edge of the chicken coup. I am posting it for your enjoyment and hoping to get an I.D. at the same time.
>>
>>Foot Hill Reptiles

That looks like an Ensatina, a sort of lungless salamander. This individual is interesting because it has a regenerating tail. Must have survived an encounter with a (mammalian?) predator and lost its tail. Many salamanders use their tails to draw attention away from their bodies. A predator will bite on the tail, which is often waved around by the salamander and/or held up high. When the salamander is bitten, the tail will release a lot of poison, making the tail very distasteful in the mouth of the predator. The predator then moves on, leaving the salamander to live another day.

Many people think that the Ensatina is a mimic of the California newt, but I doubt it. The Ensatina, just like the tiger salamander, can survive on its own defense strategy without mimicking newts. BTW, some newts also have stump tails, proving that even newts will use the same defense strategy as many less toxic salamanders.

Note the costal grooves found on this salmander, which are not found in newts.

ensatinas don't swim. that one has webbed feet and ensatinas are brownish. the juvenilles are black and blue spotted.

It's an Ensatina, one of the more commom woodland salamanders in California. They are highly variable in color and sometimes have blotched patterns. On occasion, they get decent-sized. I've mostly found yellow and orange types - that's a sweet looking red one!

Tim

Here's one I found in Santa Cruz in April:

Third Eye

You guys are right, I was too hasty in my ID. Sorry for any confusion!

>>You guys are right, I was too hasty in my ID. Sorry for any confusion!>>

LOL. Your "confusion" lends support to the hypothesis that Ensatina is a "mimic" of the newts in the genus Taricha.

http://www.biol.lu.se/zooekologi/epb/people-en/es-en/Shawn/pdf%20downloads/2008%20Kuchta%20et%20al%20Evolution.pdf

OTOH, here is a photo of what an owl did to a "coral-snake mimic." Being a "mimic" is of questionable value.