slender salamander

{{Short description|Genus of amphibians}}

{{More citations needed|date=February 2018}}

{{Automatic taxobox

| name = Slender salamanders

| image = Slender salamander big basin.jpg

| image_caption = Batrachoseps attenuatus

| taxon = Batrachoseps

| authority = Bonaparte, 1839

| subdivision_ranks = Species

| subdivision = See table

}}

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.{{cite dictionary | last1=Burton | first1=M. | last2=Burton | first2=R. | chapter=Lungless salamander|encyclopedia=International Wildlife Encyclopedia | publisher=Marshall Cavendish | year=2002 | isbn=978-0-7614-7277-3 | chapter-url=https://books.google.com/books?id=wWQw11SLvVwC&pg=PA1503 | access-date=January 3, 2020 | page=1503}} 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.{{cite journal |doi=10.1007/BF01283036 |title=The cytomorphic system of anucleate non-mammalian erythrocytes |year=1982 |last1=Cohen |first1=W. D. |journal=Protoplasma |volume=113 |pages=23–32}}

Distribution

Batrachoseps range from Oregon and California (USA) to northern Baja California (Mexico). Slender salamanders in California tolerate a diverse variety of environments, as long as their basic needs are met.{{Cite web |url=http://www.fritzhaeg.com/garden/initiatives/animalestates/animals/slender-salamander.html |title=5.1 California Slender Salamander |series=Animal Estates |website=www.fritzhaeg.com |access-date=2019-02-03 |df=dmy-all}}

Species

21 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.

File:Batrachoseps gavilanensis - Gabilan Mountains Slender Salamander 01.jpg

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ImageCommon NameScientific nameYear describedDistribution
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Greenhorn Mountains slender salamanderBatrachoseps altasierrae{{small|Jockusch et al., 2012}}Kern and Tulare counties, California, USA
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California slender salamanderBatrachoseps attenuatus{{small|Eschscholtz, 1833}}Sierra Nevada, California, and northern Central Valley of California, and southwestern Oregon
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Fairview slender salamanderBatrachoseps bramei{{small|Jockusch, et al., 2012}}California
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Inyo Mountains slender salamanderBatrachoseps campi{{small|Marlow, Brode & Wake, 1979}}Inyo County of eastern California
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Hell Hollow slender salamanderBatrachoseps diabolicus{{small|Jockusch, Wake & Yanev, 1998}}California, in Mariposa County
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San Gabriel slender salamanderBatrachoseps gabrieli{{small|Wake, 1996}}San Gabriel Mountains of Los Angeles County, California
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Gabilan Mountains slender salamanderBatrachoseps gavilanensis''{{small|Jockusch, Yanev & Wake, 2001}}Central Coast region from Santa Cruz to northern Kern County, California
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Gregarious slender salamanderBatrachoseps gregarius{{small|Jockusch, Wake & Yanev, 1998}}western Sierra Nevada and the eastern Central Valley in California
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San Simeon slender salamanderBatrachoseps incognitus{{small|Jockusch, Yanev & Wake, 2001}}south-western Monterey and northern San Luis Obispo Counties, California
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Sequoia slender salamanderBatrachoseps kawia{{small|Jockusch, Wake & Yanev, 1998}}Tulare County, California
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San Lucia Mountains slender salamanderBatrachoseps luciae{{small|Jockusch, Yanev & Wake, 2001}}Monterey County, California
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Garden slender salamanderBatrachoseps major{{small|Camp, 1915}}northern Baja California in Mexico and Southern California, United States
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Lesser slender salamanderBatrachoseps minor{{small|Jockusch, Yanev & Wake, 1998}}San Luis Obispo County, California
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Black-bellied slender salamanderBatrachoseps nigriventris{{small|Cope, 1869}}California
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Pacific slender salamanderBatrachoseps pacificus{{small|(Cope, 1865)}}Channel Islands of California
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King's River slender salamanderBatrachoseps regius{{small|Jockusch, Wake & Yanev, 1998}}Fresno County, California
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Relictual slender salamanderBatrachoseps relictus{{small|Brame & Murray, 1968}}Kern County, California.
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Kern Plateau slender salamanderBatrachoseps robustus{{small|Wake, Yanev & Hansen, 2002}}Tulare and Inyo, and Kern Counties, California
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Kern Canyon slender salamanderBatrachoseps simatus{{small|Brame & Murray, 1968}}Kern County, California
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Tehachapi slender salamanderBatrachoseps stebbinsi{{small|Brame & Murray, 1968}}Kern County, California
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|Arguello slender salamander

|Batrachoseps wakei

|{{small|Sweet & Jockusch, 2021}}

|Santa Barbara County, California

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|120px

Oregon slender salamanderBatrachoseps wrighti{{small|(Bishop, 1937)}}Oregon

Intrinsic Phylogeny

{{clade

|1={{clade

|1={{clade

|1=Batrachoseps wrighti

|2=Batrachoseps campi }}

|2={{clade

|1={{clade

|1={{clade

|1=Batrachoseps diabolicus

|2=Batrachoseps regius }}

|2={{clade

|1=Batrachoseps kawia

|2=Batrachoseps relictus }} }}

|2={{clade

|1={{clade

|1=Batrachoseps gabrieli

|2={{clade

|1=Batrachoseps gavilanensis

|2={{clade

|1=Batrachoseps major

|2=Batrachoseps pacificus }} }} }}

|2={{clade

|1=Batrachoseps attenuatus

|2={{clade

|1=Batrachoseps gregarius

|2={{clade

|1=Batrachoseps simatus

|2=Batrachoseps nigriventris }} }} }} }} }} }} }}

Intrinsic phylogeny tree of genus Batrachoseps.{{Cite journal |last=Alexander Pyron |first=R. |last2=Wiens |first2=John J. |date=2011-11-01 |title=A large-scale phylogeny of Amphibia including over 2800 species, and a revised classification of extant frogs, salamanders, and caecilians |url=https://www.sciencedirect.com/science/article/abs/pii/S105579031100279X |journal=Molecular Phylogenetics and Evolution |volume=61 |issue=2 |pages=543–583 |doi=10.1016/j.ympev.2011.06.012 |issn=1055-7903|url-access=subscription }}

See also

References

{{Reflist}}