Bay Area herpetology: salamanders, part 1

Nick Pyenson Post on Mar 16, 2007 by
Topics: Biology, Environment, Partners

California newt (Taricha torosa)It is about the time of year when, on a hike pretty much anywhere in the Bay Area, you can turn over a rock or a log and find a salamander. Like frogs, the breeding habits of salamanders coincide with the seasonally wet weather of the spring time; and as amphibians, water is essential to their livelihood and reproduction. One species of Bay Area salamander in particular, the California newt (Taricha torosa) is especially easy to see this time of year, and you can see them by the hundreds in ponds, mating and laying eggs. Newts belong to a special group of salamanders that can alter their appearance based on conditions and seasons: during this time of year, you’ll likely spot them in their aquatic morph (part of reproduction and early growth); during drier times, the newt acquires what’s called a terrestrial morph (foraging about on land). Aside from newts, we also have a diversity of fully terrestrial lung-less salamanders that aren’t as easy to find, but do tell an interesting story.

Monterey salamander (Ensatina eschscholtzii)The biodiversity of California is unique in many ways, and, luckily, scientists have been working for over 100 years to document and better understand the biotic content of this state. In studying the distribution of one lung-less salamander, the Monterey salamander (Ensatina eschscholtzii), scientists began to recognize a pattern: different subspecies of Ensatina eschscholtzii– which look very different on the outside– were tightly distributed along the coastal and Sierran mountain ranges with slightly overlapping distributions of different subspecies going north to south. The great, dry Central Valley is devoid of Ensatina, but the two north-south ranges of Ensatina eventually touch in the Peninuslar ranges just south of Bakersfield. It seems that, all throughout this species ring, different subspecies have no problems interbreeding, but what happens when the two arms of the ring touch? What explains this ring pattern? I’ll save those answers for next post…

Nick Pyenson is a PhD candidate at the University of California, Berkeley, in the department of integrative biology and the museum of paleontology.

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  • Christine

    Yesterday, my cat was intently watching something in our front garden area in the Oakland Hills. I discovered a small(~2.5")shiny animal with bright green eye lids.I carefully picked him up and took him to a planter to keep him away from our cat. He burrowed under a petal and I could observe him.I attempted taking photos, as he really looked at me as I held him on my fingers. I put him back(without feline help)where I found him and felt such joy in this amazing encounter. He looks like the Monterey Salamander you have pictured above. Our garden is moist from all the rain & is in shade from the Japanese Maple, camellias, & lilacs.Thank you for the info above. This is the 1st place I checked out re' my friend.

  • Lori

    This information is so helpful! I, too, live in the Oakland Hills, and have for nearly 17 years. But this is the first time that I have seen these newts, and it must be due to the dampness in our yard from all the rain. We have 3 cats who have been bringing them into our house for the last few weeks. I have been able to save the lives of several, by sliding a thin piece of cardboard under them and returning them to the yard. However, some of them have not been so lucky, and I just caught one of my cats eating a newt alive. Ugh! I have to be SO careful where I walk in our house now, as they have been appearing everywhere. I agree that they are really cute and seem so harmless, and although I love my cats, I HATE that they are killing these little creatures!