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.
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.[1] 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 only known to occur in mammals and certain species of antarctic fish.[2]
Batrachoseps range from Oregon and California (USA) to northern Baja California (Mexico). Slender salamanders in California tolerate diverse variety of environments, as long as their basic needs are met.[3]
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.
| Image | Common Name | Scientific name | Year described | Distribution |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| Greenhorn Mountains slender salamander | Batrachoseps altasierrae | Kern and Tulare counties, California, USA | ||
| California slender salamander | Batrachoseps attenuatus | Sierra Nevada, California, and northern Central Valley of California, and southwestern Oregon. | ||
| Fairview slender salamander | Batrachoseps bramei | California | ||
| 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 Counties, California. | ||
| Tehachapi slender salamander | Batrachoseps stebbinsi | Kern Counties, California. | ||
| Arguello slender salamander | Batrachoseps wakei | Santa Barbara County, California | ||
| Oregon slender salamander | Batrachoseps wrighti | Oregon, | ||