Description

A small slender salamander identified by having four digits on the hind limb, a narrow head that is poorly demarcated from the neck, short limbs with very small digits, and a long, slender tail. The species usually has a light dorsal stripe that can be tan, brown, reddish, or beige but usually contains streaks of light pigment;the overall impression is of a dark brown to black animal. The lateral and ventral surfaces have a rich speckling of tiny white dots. The head is narrower and the hands and feet smaller with less discrete digits than neighboring and sympatric species with which it is easily confused (Batrachoseps attenuatus and and undescribed species in the central coastal zone).

This species has recently been revised taxonomically. The Sierra Nevada populations formerly considered to be in this species are now known as Batrachoseps gregarius. The Santa Cruz Island and southern California (San Gabriel Mountains and to the south) populations are genetically distinct from the populations in the main range.

See another account at californiaherps.com.