Batrachoseps is a genus of lungless salamanders (plethodontids) often called slender salamanders. They can be distinguished from other lungless salamanders by the four toes they have on each foot.
Their genus name Batracho-seps means "frog-lizard", in reference to their projectile tongues.
Diet and physiology The lungless salamanders, in addition to having no lungs, have long slender snake-shaped bodies with very small limbs that appear almost vestigial in several species. Their main diet consists of small insects, such as springtails, small bark beetles, crickets, young snails, mites, and spiders. Like all salamanders in this family, they have long frog-like projectile tongues which they use to grab their prey in a flash.
Unlike all other amphibians (and birds, and lizards, and nearly all fish) mature red blood cells in species in the genus Batrachoseps have no nucleus, which is a trait that is known to occur only in mammals and certain species of antarctic fish.
Distribution Batrachoseps range from Oregon and California (US) to northern Baja California (Mexico). Slender salamanders in California tolerate a diverse variety of environments, as long as their basic needs are met.
Species Twenty-one species are recognized in this genus, but their taxonomy is uncertain. Some species may in fact be subspecies of others, and some subspecies may be distinct species of their own. Genetic analysis is in process.
Image Common name Scientific name Year described Distribution Greenhorn Mountains slender salamanderBatrachoseps altasierrae Kern and Tulare counties, California, US California slender salamander Batrachoseps attenuatus Sierra Nevada, California, and northern Central Valley of California, and southwestern Oregon Fairview slender salamanderBatrachoseps brameiCalifornia Inyo Mountains slender salamander Batrachoseps campi Inyo County of eastern California Hell Hollow slender salamander Batrachoseps diabolicus California, in Mariposa County San Gabriel slender salamander Batrachoseps gabrieli San Gabriel Mountains of Los Angeles County, California Gabilan Mountains slender salamander Batrachoseps gavilanensis Central Coast region from Santa Cruz to northern Kern County, California Gregarious slender salamander Batrachoseps gregarius western Sierra Nevada and the eastern Central Valley in California San Simeon slender salamander Batrachoseps incognitus south-western Monterey and northern San Luis Obispo Counties, California Sequoia slender salamander Batrachoseps kawia Tulare County, California San Lucia Mountains slender salamander Batrachoseps luciae Monterey County, California Garden slender salamander Batrachoseps major northern Baja California in Mexico and Southern California, United States Lesser slender salamander Batrachoseps minor San Luis Obispo County, California Black-bellied slender salamander Batrachoseps nigriventris California Pacific slender salamander Batrachoseps pacificus Channel Islands of California King's River slender salamander Batrachoseps regius Fresno County, California Relictual slender salamander Batrachoseps relictus Kern County, California. Kern Plateau slender salamander Batrachoseps robustus Tulare and Inyo, and Kern Counties, California Kern Canyon slender salamander Batrachoseps simatus Kern County, California Tehachapi slender salamander Batrachoseps stebbinsi Kern County, California Arguello slender salamanderBatrachoseps wakeiSanta Barbara County, California Oregon slender salamander Batrachoseps wrighti Oregon
Intrinsic Phylogeny
Intrinsic phylogeny tree of genus Batrachoseps.
See also
Elizabeth Jockusch
References
External links
Electronic Database accessible at http://research.amnh.org/herpetology/amphibia/index.php American Museum of Natural History. AmphibiaWeb is available at http://amphibiaweb.org/.