The Kern Canyon slender salamander (Batrachoseps simatus) is a plethodontid salamander.
| Kern Canyon slender salamander | |
|---|---|
Scientific classification 
| |
| Domain: | Eukaryota |
| Kingdom: | Animalia |
| Phylum: | Chordata |
| Class: | Amphibia |
| Order: | Urodela |
| Family: | Plethodontidae |
| Genus: | Batrachoseps |
| Species: | B. simatus
|
| Binomial name | |
| Batrachoseps simatus Brame & Murray, 1968
| |
Distribution
editThe Kern Canyon slender salamander is endemic to California, in Kern County in the western United States.[1]
This salamander is endemic to and only found in the forested regions of the southern Sierra Nevada south of the Lower Kern River. Much of the salamander's habitat is in the Sequoia National Forest between Bakersfield and Lake Isabella.
Description
editThe Kern Canyon slender salamander is dark brown in color with bronze and reddish spots covering its 2-inch length. Like other plethodontids it lacks lungs and breathes through its skin, which it must keep moist. It lives in damp leaf litter and emerges during high humidity or rain, and stays dormant in underground holes and crevices during the dry season. It is similar to the Tehachapi slender salamander.
Conservation
editBatrachoseps simatus is considered a California endangered species, and this status is matched by the IUCN Red List.[1] The United States Fish and Wildlife Service has petitioned to list Batrachoseps robustus, Batrachoseps simatus, and Batrachoseps relictus as threatened species.[2]
References
edit- ^ a b c IUCN SSC Amphibian Specialist Group. (2023). "Batrachoseps simatus". IUCN Red List of Threatened Species. 2023: e.T78902111A78902120. doi:10.2305/IUCN.UK.2023-1.RLTS.T78902111A78902120.en. Retrieved 26 September 2024.
- ^ Baucum, Madonna (18 October 2022). "Department of the Interior" (PDF).
- "Five year Status Report". California Department of Fish and Game. 1987. Archived from the original on 14 October 2023.