Southern California Slender Salamander
Batrachoseps major
Camp, 1915
buh-TRAY-koh-seps — MAY-jer
SSAR 9th Edition Comments:
Jockusch et al. (2020, PeerJ 8: e9599) gave a detailed phylogeographic estimate of B. major and the southern clade of B. nigriventris based on mitochondrial and nuclear evidence. Several species including B. major comprise deeply divergent genetic lineages that do not correspond to existing taxonomy. They retained B. m. aridus, but additional revision is needed.
(Pyron, R. Alexander, Christopher K. Beachy, David A. Beamer, and Kenneth M. Kozak. 2025. Caudata – Salamanders. Pages 10-21 in Kirsten E. Nicholson (Editor), Scientific and Standard English Names of Amphibians and Reptiles of North America North of Mexico, with Comments Regarding Confidence in Our Understanding, 9th Edition. Society for the Study of Amphibians and Reptiles, Lawrence, Kansas. 87 pp.)
(, Museum Voucher)
(, Observation)
(, Literature Record),
(, Citizen Science),
( Fossil)
Open icons indicate questionable records, including those with coordinate uncertainty greater than 10,000 m (approximately 6 miles); click a marker to view record details.
Occurrences:;
6,421
Total;
4,588
Museum;
1,833
Other
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Range maps are based on curated specimens and provided gratis by CNAH.
- (Version: 2024.01.16.08.05.50)
Download map data (GeoJSON):
Province/State Distribution:
United States: California
Taxonomic Etymology:
Garden slender salamander, named for its relatively large size.
Batrachoseps — Greek batrachos = “frog” + seps = “lizard.”
major — Latin major = “larger” — refers to its size relative to other Batrachoseps.
First instance(s) of published English names:
Southern Slender Salamander (Batrachoseps attenuatus leucopus: Schmidt, Karl P. 1953. A Check List of North American Amphibians and Reptiles. 6th Edition. University of Chicago Press, Chicago, Illinois. 280pp.); Greater Slender Salamander (Batrachoseps pacificus major: Schmidt, Karl P. 1953. A Check List of North American Amphibians and Reptiles. 6th Edition. University of Chicago Press, Chicago, Illinois. 280pp.); Garden Slender Salamander (Batrachoseps pacificus major: Conant, Roger, Fred R. Cagle, Coleman J. Goin, Charles H. Lowe, Wilfred T. Neill, M. Graham Netting, Karl P. Schmidt, Charles E. Shaw, Robert C. Stebbins, and Charles M. Bogert. 1956. Common names for North American amphibians and reptiles. Copeia 1956(3):172-185); Desert Slender Salamander (Batrachoseps aridus: Collins, Joseph T., James E. Huheey, James L. Knight, and Hobart M. Smith. 1978. Standard common and current scientific names for North American amphibians and reptiles. Herpetological Circulars (7):36);
Catalog of American Amphibians and Reptiles
Amphibian Species of the World
GenBank
USGS - Nonindigenous Aquatic Species Database
Selected References:
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1915
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Camp, Charles L. Batrachoseps major and Bufo cognatus californicus, new Amphibia from southern California. University of California Publications in Zoology 12:327-334
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1949
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Stebbins, Robert C. and Charles H. Lowe. The systematic status of Plethopsis with a discussion of speciation in the genus Batrachoseps. Copeia 1949(2):116-129
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1954
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Hendrickson, John R. Ecology and systematics of salamander of the genus Batrachoseps. University of California Publications in Zoology 54(1):1-46
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1993
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Arnold, Steven J., Nancy L. Reagan, and Paul A. Verrell. Reproductive isolation and speciation in plethodontid salamanders. Herpetologica 49(2):216-228
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2010
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Kozak, Kenneth H. and John J. Wiens. Accelerated rates of climatic-niche evolution underlie rapid species diversification. Ecology Letter 13:1378-1389
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2014
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Highton, Richard. Detecting cryptic species in phylogeographic studies: Speciation in the California Slender Salamander, Batrachoseps attenuatus. Molecular Phylogenetics and Evolution 71:127-141
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2020
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Jockusch, Elizabeth L., Robert W. Hansen, R. N. Fisher, and David B.Wake. Slender salamanders (genus Batrachoseps) reveal Southern California to be a center for the diversification, persistence, and introduction of salamander lineages. PeerJ 8(e9599):
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