Taricha sierrae, commonly known as the Sierra newt, is a medium-sized salamander, with adults measuring 70-90 mm from snout to vent and 125-200 cm in total length. This salamander has usually warty skin, no costal grooves, and a Y-shaped vomerine teeth pattern. It also has relatively large eyes that extend beyond the profile of the head. Terrestrial adults are reddish to brown dorsally and burnt orange to yellow ventrally. The snout, eyelids, and area below the eyes have conspicuous light coloring. The iris is yellow (Petranka 1998).

During the breeding season, males have a smooth skin, an enlarged and laterally flattened tail to swim better, a lighter body color, enlarged cloacal glands, enlarged mental glands, and tiny cornified papillae on the toe tips and hindlimb bases (to aid in grasping females during amplexus) (Petranka 1998).

Hatchlings are light yellow dorsally with two irregular dark, narrow bands on the back (Twitty 1942). Taricha sierrae has dark spots or blotches along the sides of its body, which are more prominent in older larvae. Hatchlings reach 13-14 mm TL (Riemer 1958).
 
The Sierra newt, as Taricha t. sierrae, was historically considered as one of the two subspecies of Taricha torosa, the other being Taricha t. torosa (the Coast Range newt). The two subspecies differ in coloration and geographical distribution. Most notably, the Sierra newt has more conspicuous light coloring of its eyelids and snout, a more reddish dorsal coloration and a more orange ventral coloration, as well as larger eyes that protrude past the profile of the head. The Sierra newt has been suggested as a separate species since 1991 but the nomenclatural change has been consistently challenged. In 2007, the two subspecies were declared "distinct evolutionary lineages" and recognized as the separate species T. torosa (the California newt) and T. sierrae (the Sierra newt), with a contact zone along the southern Sierra Nevada (Kuchta 2007).

endemic to a single state or province

United States

Origin: Native

Regularity: Regularly occurring

Currently: Present

Confidence: Confident

Type of Residency: Year-round

Global Range: (5000-200,000 square km (about 2000-80,000 square miles)) Range encompasses the southern Cascades and Sierra Nevada of California, from Shasta County to Tulare County (Kuchta and Tan 2006); T. sierrae hybridizes with T. torosa in the southern Sierra Nevada (Kaweah River area) (Kuchta 2007).

Taricha sierrae is one of two species of newts present in the Sierra Nevada of California, the other being Taricha granulosa, the Northern Rough-skinned newt. The Sierra newt ranges along the western slopes of the Sierra Nevada with drainage from Sacramento to San Joaquin Rivers, Tulare Lake (Jennings 1996).

Adult T. sierrae inhabit a variety of usually terrestrial habitats, becoming aquatic when breeding. They mostly inhabit foothills dominated by conifers, especially gray pine-blue oak and ponderosa pine communities (Petranka 1998). During the summer, the Sierra newt prefers moist habitats under woody debris or in animal burrows. Adults generally breed in relatively swift-flowing streams, but will sometimes use still water, including farm ponds, lakes, or ditches (Petranka 1998).

Comments: Breeding occurs in streams, ponds, and reservoirs, and terrestrial individuals occupy various adjacent upland habitats such as grassland, woodland, and forest (Storer 1925, Petranka 1998, Stebbins 2003, Kuchta 2005). Eggs are attached to sticks, undersides of stones, or vegetation in flowing or nonflowing water.

Non-Migrant: No. All populations of this species make significant seasonal migrations.

Locally Migrant: No. No populations of this species make local extended movements (generally less than 200 km) at particular times of the year (e.g., to breeding or wintering grounds, to hibernation sites).

Locally Migrant: No. No populations of this species make annual migrations of over 200 km.

Comments: Metamorphosed individuals eat earthworms, snails, slugs, sowbugs, and various insects; adults, especially females, may eat conspecific eggs. Larvae eat small aquatic organisms and decomposing organic material (Stebbins 1951).

Note: For many non-migratory species, occurrences are roughly equivalent to populations.

Estimated Number of Occurrences: 81 - 300

Comments: This species is represented by many and/or large occurrences throughout most of the range.

10,000 - 1,000,000 individuals

Comments: Total adult population size is unknown but presumably exceeds 10,000.

Comments: Inactive in cold temperatures or hot, dry weather. Often active in the day, during rainy season (except in cold temperatures).

United States

Rounded National Status Rank: N4 - Apparently Secure

Rounded Global Status Rank: G4 - Apparently Secure

Global Short Term Trend: Relatively stable to decline of 30%

Comments: Currently relatively stable in extent of occurrence; probably relatively stable to slowly declining in population size, area of occurrence, and number/condition of occurrences.

Global Long Term Trend: Increase of 10-25% to decline of 30%

Comments: Over the long term, likely relatively stable in extent of occurrence, probably less than 25% decline in population size, area of occurrence, and number/condition of occurrences.

Adult Sierra newts migrate to breeding streams in January and February (Stebbins 1951). While they sometimes breed in temporary pools and other bodies of water with minimal current, T. sierrae can also breed in faster-flowing streams (Petranka 1998). The Sierra newt is stable in its current home range, perhaps because it is more able to adapt to fluctuating conditions in streams than other aquatic salamanders (Jennings 1996). Breeding activity occurs from early March through early May and is dependent on elevation, local site conditions, and seasonal rainfall (Twitty 1942).

Adults typically require 6-8 weeks to reach breeding sites and both sexes breed every other year. Males arrive at breeding sites before females and stay longer after breeding (Twitty 1942). There are more males than females at breeding sites and males must compete for a mate. When courting, the male amplexes the female and, after about an hour of intermittent periods of head rubbing and tail fluttering, the male dismounts and deposits a spermatophore. The female picks up the spermatophore with her cloaca. Quickly after mating, females attach spherical masses of 11-22 eggs to the sides and bottoms of stones in fairly fast-flowing stream water. Taricha sierrae tend not to oviposit in cryptic sites, since exposed egg masses could be washed from rocks in the faster-flowing water. Total clutch size is not known. The mean egg diameter is 2.8 mm, while the jelly layers surrounding the eggs swell within hours to form a firm mass measuring 15-25 mm in diameter (Petranka 1998). Incubation may last from 14-52 days, depending on local water temperatures, population, and other factors (Storer 1925; Mosher et al. 1964; Petranka 1998). After a larval period of a few months, transformation occurs in late summer or early autumn (Riemer 1958). Larvae usually transform at 55-62 mm TL beginning in late August (Petranka 1998).

Sierra and California newts (T. sierrae and T. torosa) have a diet consisting mostly of worms, snails, eggs, larvae, insects, sowbugs, slugs, and other invertebrates, but may opportunistically take other prey, such as larval newts. A hatchling bird was even found in the stomach of one adult T. torosa. Adults feed when in breeding streams and T. torosa often cannibalize their own eggs and larvae. T. torosa females cannibalize eggs more often than males, sometimes as soon as the eggs protrude from another female's vent (Petranka 1998).

After transformation, juveniles leave the water for surrounding habitats, and the juvenile stage likely lasts 5-8 years. Adults spend the dry summer months in moist, subsurface habitats, and emerge with the onset of autumn rains. Adults are more active on the ground surface than juveniles. Adults may make clicking sounds when they encounter other newts, sometimes accompanied by rising high on the legs and wagging the tail. Another defensive pose, known as the "unken" reflex, is to assume a swaybacked position with the tail tip held straight out, exposing the bright ventral surface (in contrast to the defensive posture of T. granulosa, where the tail tip is curled). This posture can be induced by tapping newts on their bodies. Sierra newts will sometimes squeak when picked up (Petranka 1998). However, their main defense against predators is the potent neurotoxin, tetrodotoxin, present in the Sierra newt's skin, ova, and ovaries (Buchwald et al. 1964).

Comments: Locally, population have been reduced or eliminated as a result of habitat degradation or loss caused by conversion of habitat to human uses and to a much lesser degree by large-scale commercial exploitation (Jennings and Hayes 1994). Many are killed on roads as they move between uplands and aquatic breeding sites. Introduced fishes likely have a negative impact in some bodies of water inhabited by this species.

The Sierra newt is currently not threatened, due partly to its stream-breeding ability which offers larvae a monopoly on resources. Although this species is fairly stable in its current home range, there is a possible threat to aquatic newt larvae from introduced fishes such as stocked trout (Liss and Larson 1991). Introduced bullfrogs have also been observed to eat juvenile and adult newts (Jennings 1996).

Comments: Taricha sierrae formerly was recognized as a subspecies of Taricha torosa.

Phylogenetic analysis of mtDNA data (Tan and Wake 1995) revealed the following clusters in T. torosa: (1) northern Sierra Nevada (Shasta to Nevada counties); (2) central Sierra Nevada (El Dorado to Fresno counties); (3) southern Sierra Nevada (Tulare to Kern counties) (independently derived relative to 1 and 2, above); (4) southern coastal California (San Diego and Orange counties); (5) central coastal California (Los Angeles to central and northern California). This study and additional allozyme data (Kuchta and Tan 2006) provided the basis for a phylogeographical history of T. torosa. Among other things, the data are consistent in indicating that populations in the southern Sierra Nevada are more closely related to T. torosa torosa than to T. t. sierrae.

In the interests of taxonomic stability, Kuchta and Tan (2006) refrained from advocating changes in the taxonomic status of Taricha torosa torosa and Taricha torosa sierrae, pending completion and publication of ongoing studies.

Kuchta (2007) examined genetic and morphological variation in Taricha torosa and concluded that T. torosa and T. sierrae are distinct evolutionary lineages that should be recognized as distinct species.