Description
Relatively large species of Batrachoseps characterized by relatively long legs and large feet. Feet are webbed with one free section per toe. Dorsum is dark red or brown with light beige splotches, occasionally forming dorsal band. Beige blotches absent from belly midline. 18-19 costal grooves and 6-7 costal folds (Petranka 1998) .

Distribution and Habitat

Country distribution from AmphibiaWeb's database: United States

U.S. state distribution from AmphibiaWeb's database: California

	View distribution map in BerkeleyMapper.
	View Bd and Bsal data (2 records).

This species is endemic to California, USA; it has a very limited distribution. It is found only in the Caliente Creek drainage in the Piute Mountains, southern Sierra Nevada, Kern County, CA. B. stebbinsi is associated with oak or mixed pine-oak forests (Petranka1998).

Life History, Abundance, Activity, and Special Behaviors
Virtually no data is available on the life-history of this species (Petranka 1998) , but it is probably similar to other Batrachoseps species. They are completely terrestrial, laying eggs usually under logs or lear litter. The eggs hatch directly into small terrestrial salamanders, there is no aquatic larval stage.

Trends and Threats
Because of its extremely narrow range, this species is particularly vulnerable to habitat destruction and should be considered in the management of Kern County.

Comments

See another account at californiaherps.com.

References

Petranka, J. W. (1998). Salamanders of the United States and Canada. Smithsonian Institution Press, Washington D.C. and London.

Species Account Citation: AmphibiaWeb 2004 Batrachoseps stebbinsi: Tehachapi Slender Salamander <https://amphibiaweb.org/species/3947> University of California, Berkeley, CA, USA. Accessed Jan 31, 2025.

Citation: AmphibiaWeb. 2025. <https://amphibiaweb.org> University of California, Berkeley, CA, USA. Accessed 31 Jan 2025.

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