Editorial Type:
Article Category: Research Article
 | 
Online Publication Date: 01 Dec 2002

New Species of Slender Salamander, Genus Batrachoseps, from the Southern Sierra Nevada of California

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Page Range: 1016 – 1028
DOI: 10.1643/0045-8511(2002)002[1016:NSOSSG]2.0.CO;2
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Abstract

Populations of robust salamanders belonging to the plethodontid salamander genus Batrachoseps (subgenus Plethopsis) from the southern Sierra Nevada and adjacent regions represent a previously unknown species here described as Batrachoseps robustus. The new species is robust, with a short trunk (17–18 trunk vertebrae) and well-developed limbs. It differs from its close geographic neighbor, Batrachoseps campi, in lacking patches of dorsal silvery iridophores and in having (typically) a lightly pigmented dorsal stripe, and from Batrachoseps wrighti in being more robust, having more trunk vertebrae, and in lacking conspicuous white spots ventrally. This species is widely distributed on the semiarid Kern Plateau of the southeastern Sierra Nevada and extends along the east slopes of the mountains into the lower Owens Valley; it also is found to the south in the isolated Scodie Mountains. It occurs at high elevations, from 1615–2800 m, in areas of low rainfall and high summer temperatures.

Copyright: The American Society of Ichthyologists and Herpetologists
 Fig. 1. 
 Fig. 1. 

Holotype. Museum of Vertebrate Zoology (MVZ) 219115, an adult female from the Kern Plateau, Tulare County, California.

 Fig. 2. 
 Fig. 2. 

Dorsal (left) and ventral (right) views of the skull of an adult male Batrachoseps robustus (MVZ 158303). Only bones and teeth are shown, apart from the dorsal fontanelle, which is stippled. The nasal bone on the right side is fragmented, and the right vomer also has a small anterior fragment

 Fig. 3. 
 Fig. 3. 

Dorsal view of the right hind limb of an adult Batrachoseps robustus (MVZ 158303). Cartilage is stippled

 Fig. 4. 
 Fig. 4. 

Distribution of Batrachoseps robustus on the Kern Plateau and western margins of the Owens Valley, Inyo County, CA, and in the Scodie Mountains, Kern County, CA.

 Fig. 5. 
 Fig. 5. 

Habitat of Batrachoseps robustus. (A) McIvers Spring, Scodie Mountains, 2025 m, Kern County, CA. Salamanders are apparently restricted to the band of moisture associated with spring runoff, occurring beneath scattered rocks on moist soil. Bordering woodland consists principally of Singleleaf Pinyon Pine (Pinus monophylla). 12 May 1979. (B) Vicinity of Brush Creek Overlook, approximately 3 map miles south-southeast Burton Camp, north of Poison Meadow, 2380 m elevation, Tulare County, CA. This site lies on the western edge of the Kern Plateau. Salamanders were found beneath flat rocks at the margins of a seepage. Bordering forest is comprised of Jeffrey Pines (Pinus jeffreyi) and White Fir (Abies concolor). 10 July 1980. (C) Type locality for B. robustus, north-northwest Sirretta Peak, southeast Round Meadow on Kern Plateau, Tulare County, CA. Elevation 2775–2800 m. 13 July 1991. (D) Sage Flat Creek, east slope Sierra Nevada, Inyo County, CA. This site is typical of the eastern slope localities, dominated by Singleleaf Pinyon and Canyon Oaks (Quercus chrysolepis), with Bigleaf Sagebrush (Artemisia tridentata) common in open areas. Salamanders were found only on or at the base of the shaded, north-facing slope. The arid Owens Valley and the Inyo Mountains are visible in the distance. 25 March 1986

Received: 26 Nov 2001
Accepted: 08 Jul 2002
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