Cheadle Center for Biodiversity and Ecological Restoration

Tehachapi Slender Salamander (Batrachoseps stebbinsi) is endemic to the Tehachapi Mountains to the Piute Mountains and is listed as a threatened species by the State of California. They are found in scattered populations from the San Andreas Fault to Walker Basin. Previous studies had found that northern and southern populations of this species have high levels of genetic, color, and size differences. It has been suggested that the two populations of B. stebbinsi could be separate species (Hansen and Wake 2005). We obtained morphological measurements from images of preserved specimens from both populations. No significant differences in shape or size was detected between these two populations. In future work we will increase sample size and incorporate evolution of color variation across the range of this species.

Poster presented at UCSB spring URCA colliquium in 2023