Kern Canyon slender salamander

The Kern Canyon slender salamander (Batrachoseps simatus) is a plethodontid salamander.

Distribution
The Kern Canyon slender salamander is endemic to California, in Kern County in the western United States.

This salamander is endemic to and only found in the forested regions of the southern Sierra Nevada south of the Lower Kern River. Much of the salamander's habitat is in the Sequoia National Forest between Bakersfield and Lake Isabella.

Description
The Kern Canyon slender salamander is dark brown in color with bronze and reddish spots covering its 2-inch length. Like other plethodontids it lacks lungs and breathes through its skin, which it must keep moist. It lives in damp leaf litter and emerges during high humidity or rain, and stays dormant in underground holes and crevices during the dry season. It is similar to the Tehachapi slender salamander.

Conservation
Batrachoseps simatus is considered a California endangered species, and is an IUCN Red List Vulnerable species. The United States Fish and Wildlife Service has petitioned to list the Batrachoseps robustus, Batrachoseps simatus, and Batrachoseps relictus as a threatened species.