Tehachapi slender salamander

Taxobox
name = Slender Salamanders
status = VU | status_system = IUCN3.1
trend = unknown
regnum = Animalia
phylum = Chordata
classis = Amphibia
ordo = Caudata
familia = Plethodontidae
genus = "Batrachoseps"
species = "B. stebbinsi"
binomial = "Batrachoseps stebbinsi"
binomial_authority = Brame & Murray, 1968

The Tehachapi slender salamander ("Batrachoseps stebbinsi") is a plethodontid salamander, and one of the larger members of genus "Batrachoseps". It is closely related to the Kern Canyon slender salamander. It is considered a threatened species in California, and is found only in isolated areas of the Piute and Tehachapi Mountains of Kern County. Much of the salamander's habitat is currently located on land owned by Tejon Ranch.

The Tehachapi slender salamander is dark brown in color with light, glittery-looking speckles of coppery red and silver covering its 3-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.

References

* Database entry includes a range map, a brief justification of why this species is vulnerable, and the criteria used