Ensatina eschscholtzii

Taxonomy

Assessment Information

Geographic Range

Population

Habitat and Ecology

Threats

Conservation Actions

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Taxonomy [top]

Kingdom	Phylum	Class	Order	Family
ANIMALIA	CHORDATA	AMPHIBIA	CAUDATA	PLETHODONTIDAE

Scientific Name:

Ensatina eschscholtzii

Species Authority:

Gray, 1850

Common Name/s:

English

–

Ensatina

Taxonomic Notes:

This polytypic, ring species includes taxa that form a semicomplex of more than one species.

Assessment Information [top]

Red List Category & Criteria:	Least Concern ver 3.1
Year Published:	2004
Assessor/s:	Geoffrey Hammerson, Gabriela Parra-Olea, David Wake
Reviewer/s:	Global Amphibian Assessment Coordinating Team (Simon Stuart, Janice Chanson, Neil Cox and Bruce Young)
Contributor/s:
Justification: Listed as Least Concern in view of its wide distribution, presumed large population, and because it is unlikely to be declining fast enough to qualify for listing in a more threatened category.

Geographic Range [top]

Range Description:	This species ranges from southwestern British Columbia in Canada, south through the Coastal Ranges of the USA to extreme northwestern Baja California and the Sierra San Pedro Martir, Baja California in Mexico (Mahrdt et al. 1998); and along the western slopes of Cascade Range and Sierra Nevada in California in the USA. It is absent from Sacramento-San Joaquin valley, California. It occurs as a large number of separate subspecies. The subspecies E. e. klauberi occurs in the Sierra San Pedro Martir, Baja California, Mexico, above 2,000m asl. It occurs from sea level up to elevations of about 2,350m asl (Stebbins 1985). See Moritz et al. (1992) for a general but up-to-date distribution map.
Countries:	Native: Canada; Mexico; United States
Range Map:	Click here to open the map viewer and explore range.

Population [top]

Population:	In the USA and Canada the total adult population size is unknown but probably exceeds 100,000. Its population appears to be stable. It is a rare species in Mexico, there have been only a few observations, but they are still found.
Population Trend:	Decreasing

Habitat and Ecology [top]

Habitat and Ecology:	This species can be found in the north: Douglas-fir/maple forests, forest clearings. In coastal areas, redwood forest, chaparral, oak woodland, canyons. Sierra Nevada: pine-oak-incense cedar forests. In dry or cold weather: in caves, underground, in rotting logs. Eggs are laid underground, or under the bark of or within rotting logs (Stebbins 1985), where they develop directly without a larval stage. E. e. klauberi lives in mixed conifer forest and lays its eggs on the ground.
Systems:	Terrestrial

Habitat and Ecology:

This species can be found in the north: Douglas-fir/maple forests, forest clearings. In coastal areas, redwood forest, chaparral, oak woodland, canyons. Sierra Nevada: pine-oak-incense cedar forests. In dry or cold weather: in caves, underground, in rotting logs. Eggs are laid underground, or under the bark of or within rotting logs (Stebbins 1985), where they develop directly without a larval stage. E. e. klauberi lives in mixed conifer forest and lays its eggs on the ground.

Systems:

Terrestrial

Threats [top]

Major Threat(s):	In moist climates, ensatinas tolerate intensive forestry practices fairly well, but in drier climates recently logged areas have lower population densities than do old growth forests, presumably reflecting moisture differences (see Petranka 1998). In Mexico the nominate subspecies is probably heavily impacted by the loss of habitat as a result of the development and expansion of vineyards.

Major Threat(s):

In moist climates, ensatinas tolerate intensive forestry practices fairly well, but in drier climates recently logged areas have lower population densities than do old growth forests, presumably reflecting moisture differences (see Petranka 1998). In Mexico the nominate subspecies is probably heavily impacted by the loss of habitat as a result of the development and expansion of vineyards.

Conservation Actions [top]

Conservation Actions:	None needed. It occurs in many protected areas. E. e. klauberi occurs in the Sierra San Pedro Martir National Park. This species is protected by Mexican law under the "Special Protection" category (Pr).

Conservation Actions:

None needed. It occurs in many protected areas. E. e. klauberi occurs in the Sierra San Pedro Martir National Park. This species is protected by Mexican law under the "Special Protection" category (Pr).

Citation:	Geoffrey Hammerson, Gabriela Parra-Olea, David Wake 2004. Ensatina eschscholtzii. In: IUCN 2012. IUCN Red List of Threatened Species. Version 2012.2. <www.iucnredlist.org>. Downloaded on 20 May 2013.
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