A Guide to the Amphibians
and Reptiles of California

San Gabriel Mountains Slender Salamander -
Batrachoseps gabrieli

Wake, 1996

Click on a picture for a larger view

Description • Taxonomy • Species Description • Scientific Name • Alt. Names • Similar Herps • References • Conservation Status

San Gabriel Mountains Slender Salamander Range Map

Red: Range in California

Range Map of all Slender Salamanders in California

Click on the map for a topographical view

Map with California County Names

San Gabriel Mountains Slender Salamander

Adult, Los Angeles County

Adult, coiling defensively

Adult, Los Angeles County

Adult, Los Angeles County
© Ryan Sikola

Underside of adult, Los Angeles County

Adult and Juvenile, Los Angeles County (captured and handled under state Scientific Collecting Permit and released at point of capture.) © Adam Clause

Juvenile coiled up on acorn,
Los Angeles County

Adult, Los Angeles County
© Zeev Nitzan Ginsburg

Adult, Los Angeles County
© Max Roberts

Slender Salmanders (genus Batrachoseps) have only 4 toes on their hind feet. All other California salamanders have 5 toes on their hind feet.

Comparisons with Sympatric Slender Salamanders

San Gabriel Mountains Slender Salamander comparison

Black-bellied Slender Salamander comparison

Left: B. nigriventris -
Black-bellied Slender Salamander
Right: B. gabrieli

The two species coexist at some locations in Los Angeles County. These two were found sheltering next to each other.
Note the larger more robust limbs and body of B. gabrieli.
© William Flaxington

Left: B. gabrieli
Right: B. nigriventris -
Black-bellied Slender Salamander

L. A. County © Ryan Sikola

Left: B. m. major -
Garden Slender Salamander
Right: B. gabrieli (collected with permit)

Note the darker color of B. gabrieli and larger feet and toes.

Habitat

Habitat, 3,800 ft., Los Angeles County

Habitat, San Gabriel Mountains,
Los Angeles County

Black-bellied Slender Salamander Habitat

Habitat, 3,800 ft., San Gabriel Mountains, Los Angeles County

Habitat, 3,800 ft. San Gabriel Mountains,
Los Angeles County

Short Video

An adult salamander crawling
in leaf litter under a shrub.

Description

Size

Adults are 1 1/2 to 2 inches long (3.8 - 5.1 cm) from snout to vent.

Appearance

A small slim salamander with 18 -19 costal grooves.
Short limbs, a long slender body with a narrow head and a long tail, and conspicuous costal and caudal grooves give this species the worm-like appearance typical of most Slender Salamanders.
Fairly robust for a Batrachoseps, with a fairly broad head, long limbs, large feet, and tapered tail.

There are four toes on the front and hind feet, which is typical of all Slender Salamanders.
(Other California salamanders have five toes on the hind feet.)

Color and Pattern

Black above with a coppery to orange patchy dorsal stripe, becoming patches on the tail, and white speckling.
The underside is dark with scattered speckles.

Comparison With Sympatric Slender Salamanders

Co-exists with B. nigriventris in some localities.
B. nigriventris has a narrower head, shorter limbs, smaller feet, and a longer tail.
Found about 2 miles from B. major. (Stebbins 2003)

Life History and Behavior

A member of family Plethodontidae, the Plethodontid or Lungless Salamanders.

Plethodontid salamanders do not breathe through lungs. They conduct respiration through their skin and the tissues lining their mouth. This requires them to live in damp environments on land and to move about on the ground only during times of high humidity. (Plethodontid salamanders native to California do not inhabit streams or bodies of water but they are capable of surviving for a short time if they fall into water.)

Plethodontid salamanders are also distinguished by their naso-labial grooves, which are vertical slits between the nostrils and upper lip that are lined with glands associated with chemoreception.

All Plethodontid Salamanders native to California lay eggs in moist places on land.
The young develop in the egg and hatch directly into a tiny terrestrial salamander with the same body form as an adult.
(They do not hatch in the water and begin their lives as tiny swimming larvae breathing through gills like some other types of salamanders.)

Activity

Lives and in moist places on land.
Found under large rocks, logs, and bark.
Active on rainy or wet nights when temperatures are moderate, limited to the rainy season which is generally November through April.
Retreats into deep talus when temperatures rise and the soil dries.
Has been found while snow was present on the ground.

Defense

Slender salamanders use several defense tactics, including:
- Coiling and remaining still, relying on cryptic coloring to avoid detection.
- Uncoiling quickly and springing away repeatedly bouncing over the ground, then remaining still again to avoid detection.
- Detaching the tail, which wriggles on the ground to distract a predator from the salamander long enough for it to escape.
(After its tail is detached or severed, the salamander will grow a new tail.)

Diet and Feeding

Eats small invertebrates, including ants.

A sit-and-wait predator, feeding with a projectile tongue.

Reproduction

Reproduction is terrestrial.
Reproduction is thought to occur after the first heavy fall rains.
Nest sites have not been recorded, but other Batrachoseps species lay eggs in moist places on land.

Eggs

It is presumed that eggs are laid deep underneath talus piles.

Young

Young develop completely in the egg and hatch fully-formed.

Habitat

Closely assosicated with extensive rock talus on forested slopes, often near a stream.

Geographical Range

A California endemic, found in at least 13 locations, from San Gabriel Canyon in the eastern San Gabriel Mountains to Kimbark and Waterman Canyon in the extreme western San Bernardino Mountains.

Elevational Range

Occurs at elevations from 2,800 - 7,800 ft. (850 - 2,380 m.)

Notes on Taxonomy

Not discovered until the 1990's, which is unusual due to its close proximity to a heavily populated area. Described officially in 1996.

After the initial discovery of this species, more searches have been made in rocky talus, and more isolated salamander populations have been discovered. These salamanders are included with B. gabrieli, but some could warrant recognition as distinct species.

Here's a Diagram of the Batrachoseps Complex showing the relationships between species.

Alternate and Previous Names (Synonyms)

Batrachoseps gabrieli - San Gabriel Mountains Slender Salamander (Stebbins 2003)
Batrachoseps gabrieli - San Gabriel Slender Salamander (Wake 1996)

Conservation Issues (Conservation Status)

Considered a sensitive species, most likely due to its limited habitat close to a heavily populated area. All known localities are on public lands in the Los Angeles and San Bernardino National Forests.

Taxonomy
Family	Plethodontidae	Lungless Salamanders	Gray, 1850
Genus	Batrachoseps	Slender Salamanders	Bonaparte, 1841
Species	gabrieli	San Gabriel Slender Salamander	Wake, 1996
Original Description
Wake, David B. "A new species of Batrachoseps (Amphibia: Plethodontidae) from the San Gabriel Mountains, southern California." Contributions in Science, Natural History Museum of Los Angeles County. 463. 1996.
Meaning of the Scientific Name
Batrachoseps: Greek - amphibian, frog lizard - describes lizard-like appearance. gabrieli: of the San Gabriel Mountains (type-locality.) from Scientific and Common Names of the Reptiles and Amphibians of North America - Explained © Ellin Beltz
Similar Neighboring Salamanders
Batrachoseps nigriventris Batrachoseps major major
More Information and References
California Department of Fish and Wildlife AmphibiaWeb Stebbins, Robert C., and McGinnis, Samuel M. Field Guide to Amphibians and Reptiles of California: Revised Edition (California Natural History Guides) University of California Press, 2012. Stebbins, Robert C. California Amphibians and Reptiles. The University of California Press, 1972. Flaxington, William C. Amphibians and Reptiles of California: Field Observations, Distribution, and Natural History. Fieldnotes Press, Anaheim, California, 2021. Samuel M. McGinnis and Robert C. Stebbins. Peterson Field Guide to Western Reptiles & Amphibians. 4th Edition. Houghton Mifflin Harcourt Publishing Company, 2018. Stebbins, Robert C. A Field Guide to Western Reptiles and Amphibians. 3rd Edition. Houghton Mifflin Company, 2003. Behler, John L., and F. Wayne King. The Audubon Society Field Guide to North American Reptiles and Amphibians. Alfred A. Knopf, 1992. Powell, Robert., Joseph T. Collins, and Errol D. Hooper Jr. A Key to Amphibians and Reptiles of the Continental United States and Canada. The University Press of Kansas, 1998. Bartlett, R. D. & Patricia P. Bartlett. Guide and Reference to the Amphibians of Western North America (North of Mexico) and Hawaii. University Press of Florida, 2009. Bishop, Sherman C. Handbook of Salamanders. Cornell University Press, 1943. Lannoo, Michael (Editor). Amphibian Declines: The Conservation Status of United States Species. University of California Press, June 2005. Petranka, James W. Salamanders of the United States and Canada. Smithsonian Institution, 1998.

Conservation Status
The following conservation status listings for this animal are taken from the April 2024 State of California Special Animals List and the April 2024 Federally Listed Endangered and Threatened Animals of California list (unless indicated otherwise below.) Both lists are produced by multiple agencies every year, and sometimes more than once per year, so the conservation status listing information found below might not be from the most recent lists. To make sure you are seeing the most recent listings, go to this California Department of Fish and Wildlife web page where you can search for and download both lists: https://www.wildlife.ca.gov/Data/CNDDB/Plants-and-Animals. A detailed explanation of the meaning of the status listing symbols can be found at the beginning of the two lists. For quick reference, I have included them on my Special Status Information page. If no status is listed here, the animal is not included on either list. This most likely indicates that there are no serious conservation concerns for the animal. To find out more about an animal's status you can also go to the NatureServe and IUCN websites to check their rankings. Check the current California Department of Fish and Wildlife sport fishing regulations to find out if this animal can be legally pursued and handled or collected with possession of a current fishing license. You can also look at the summary of the sport fishing regulations as they apply only to reptiles and amphibians that has been made for this website.
Organization	Status Listing	Notes
NatureServe Global Ranking	G2G3	Imperiled - Vulnerable
NatureServe State Ranking	S2S3	Imperiled - Vulnerable
U.S. Endangered Species Act (ESA)	None
California Endangered Species Act (CESA)	None
California Department of Fish and Wildlife	None
Bureau of Land Management	None
USDA Forest Service	S	Sensitive
IUCN	DD	Data Deficient

Return to the Top

San Gabriel Mountains Slender Salamander - Batrachoseps gabrieli

San Gabriel Mountains Slender Salamander -
Batrachoseps gabrieli