Salamanders and Newts of San Franscisco Bay Area

California Tiger Salamander - Ambystoma californiense Photo credit: J. Maughn, Flickr
California Slender Salamander - Batrachoseps attenuatus (Pleasanton Ridge)	Arboreal Salamander - Aneides lugubris (Pleasanton Ridge)
Ensatina (Yellow-eyed Ensatina)- Ensatina eschscholtzii (Pleasanton Ridge)	California Newt - Taricha torosa (Pleasanton Ridge)

Salamanders and Newts belong to the order caudata.

• List of Bay Area Salamanders and Newts
• General Notes
• Books
• Articles/Links
• Video

1. California Tiger Salamander - Ambystoma californiense
2. Santa Cruz Long-toed Salamander - Ambystoma macrodactylum croceum
3. Northwestern Salamander - Ambystoma gracile (only Sonoma County)
4. California Giant Salamander - Dicamptodon ensatus
5. California Slender Salamander - Batrachoseps attenuatus
6. Arboreal Salamander - Aneides lugubris
7. Santa Cruz Black Salamander - Aneides flavipunctatus niger
8. Speckled Black Salamander - Aneides flavipunctatus flavipunctatus
9. Ensatina (Yellow-eyed Ensatina)- Ensatina eschscholtzii xanthoptica
10. California Newt - Taricha torosa
11. Rough-skinned Newt - Taricha granulosa
12. Red-bellied Newt - Taricha rivularis

• California Slender Salamanders are abundant in the right habitat.
• The Yellow-eyed Ensatina is probably the second most common salamander in the Bay area.
• Arboreal Salamander is often found in Bay area backyards. A good place to look is under garbage cans. Arboreal Salamander can be sympatric (occuring in the same microhabitat) with the Yellow-eyed Ensatina, but the Arboreal Salamander prefers arboreal microhabitats, while the Yellow-eyed Ensatina is more terrestrial.
• The California Giant Salamander often occur in streams and seepages, but beware, they bite hard!
• The Coast Range Newt (Taricha torosa torosa) is common in lentic habitats such as ponds in oak woodlands. These newts are highly toxic and shouldn't be ingested.
• The Rough-skinned Newt is even more toxic than it's deadly cousin - avoid handling them. They tend to want more shade, so look in slow moving streams or shaded ponds or lakes.

• The Status of the California Tiger Salamander (Ambystoma californiense), California Red-Legged Frog (Rana draytonii), Foothill Yellow-Legged Frog (Rana boylii), and other Aquatic Herpetofauna in the East Bay Regional Park District, California  ...link 
• Identifying California Salamanders and Newts - an article on CaliforniaHerps.com  ...link 
• California Salamanders - a photographic guide by Don Roberson.  ...link 
• The pond at the University of California Botanical Garden has a breeding population of 2 species of newts every year. Check out the photos from Spring 2007.  ...link 
• California Newts of Briones Regional Park - KQED Quest  ...link 
• California Slender Salamander page from AmphibiaWeb  ...link