Tehachapi Slender Salamander

Range

This species of salamander is endemic to the western United States. It is found in California, in Kern County.

Habitats

The Tehachapi slender salamander is nocturnal in nature and lives in damp leaf litter. It emerges during high humidity or rain. Like all other salamander belonging to the same genus, it feeds on crickets, beetles, mites, young snails and spiders. Breeding is terrestrial and occurs during rainy period. The juvenile salamanders are hardly found, thus they are thought to hatch underground and stay underground during the beginning of their lives.

Identification

The Tehachapi slender salamander or Batrachoseps stebbinsi is dark brown in color and has light speckles that are red and silver covering its body. The speckles are glittery-looking. It is 3 inches long in total length and has a long slender body that is snake-like with small limbs that appear vestigial. The members of this species lack lungs and therefore breathe through its skin, which must be moist at all times. It is known to possess frog-like projectile tongues which it uses for grabbing its prey in a flash. This salamander also has four toes on each foot.

Learn more with Schechter Natural History's Guide to Reptiles and Amphibians