Taricha torosa (Rathke, 1833)

Class: Amphibia > Order: Caudata > Family: Salamandridae > Subfamily: Pleurodelinae > Genus: Taricha > Species: Taricha torosa

Salamandra beecheyi Gray, 1831, in Cuvier, Animal Kingdom (Griffith), 9—Appendix: 107. Nomen nudum. 

Triton torosa Rathke, 1833, in Eschscholtz (ed.), Zool. Atlas: 12. Type(s): Not designated or known to exist. Type locality: "in der Umgebung der Bai St. Francisco auf Californien" (= vicinity of San Francisco Bay, California, USA).

Triton Ermani Wiegmann In Erman, 1835, Reise N. Asien 1828–1830, Naturhist. Atlas: 24. Holotype: Not stated, but ZMB 3674, lost, according to Bauer, Good, and Günther, 1993, Mitt. Zool. Mus. Berlin, 69: 300. Type locality: "San Francisco in Californien an einer feuchten Waldstelle", USA. Synonymy by Baird, 1850 "1849", J. Acad. Nat. Sci. Philadelphia, Ser. 2, 1: 284; Gray, 1850, Cat. Spec. Amph. Coll. Brit. Mus., Batr. Grad.: 25; Boulenger, 1882, Cat. Batr. Grad. Batr. Apoda Coll. Brit. Mus., Ed. 2: 20.

Salamandra beecheyi Gray, 1839, in Beechey (ed.), Zool. Capt. Beechey’s Voy.: 98. Syntypes: 2 specimens in the"Museum of the College of Surgeons"; BMNH 1848.7.30.34–35 are possibly syntypes according to museum records. Type locality: "Monterey", California, USA. Plate 31 is cited in the original description but not included in the AMNH copy, and the introduction by Captain Beechey suggests that this plate was never produced. Synonymy by Gray, 1850, Cat. Spec. Amph. Coll. Brit. Mus., Batr. Grad.: 25; Boulenger, 1882, Cat. Batr. Grad. Batr. Apoda Coll. Brit. Mus., Ed. 2: 20.

Pleurodeles californiae Gray, 1850, Cat. Spec. Amph. Coll. Brit. Mus., Batr. Grad.: 25. Nomen nudum provided by Gray in synonymy and attributed to Bibron; presumably a manuscript name.

Taricha torosa — Gray, 1850, Cat. Spec. Amph. Coll. Brit. Mus., Batr. Grad.: 25.

Notophthalmus torosus — Baird, 1850 "1849", J. Acad. Nat. Sci. Philadelphia, Ser. 2, 1: 284. Grinnell and Storer, 1924, Animal Life in the Yosemite: 651.

Taricha laevis Baird and Girard, 1853, Proc. Acad. Nat. Sci. Philadelphia, 6: 302. Syntypes: Not stated; USNM 4014 (5 specimens) according to Cochran, 1961, Bull. U.S. Natl. Mus., 220: 26. Type locality: "San Francisco", San Francisco County, California, USA. Synonymy by Boulenger, 1882, Cat. Batr. Grad. Batr. Apoda Coll. Brit. Mus., Ed. 2: 20.

Triton laevis — Strauch, 1870, Mem. Acad. Imp. Sci. St. Petersbourg, Ser. 7, 16 (4): 50.

Diemyctylus torosus — Cope, 1875, Bull. U.S. Natl. Mus., 1: 28.

Triton torosus — Wiedersheim, 1877, Morphol. Jahrb., 3: 465.

Molge torosa — Boulenger, 1882, Cat. Batr. Grad. Batr. Apoda Coll. Brit. Mus., Ed. 2: 20.

Cynops torosus — Cope, 1883, Proc. Acad. Nat. Sci. Philadelphia, 35: 25.

Amblystoma rubrum Reid, 1895, History of Pasadena: 600. Type(s): Not designated or known to exist. Type locality: "in the pools that occur so often in the mountain canyons" in the vicinity of Pasadena, Los Angeles County, California, USA. Synonymy by Storer, 1925, Univ. California Publ. Zool., 27: 44; Slevin, 1928, Occas. Pap. California Acad. Sci., 16: 23.

Diemictylus torosus — Fowler and Dunn, 1917, Proc. Acad. Nat. Sci. Philadelphia, 69: 28. Wolterstorff, 1925, Abh. Ber. Mus. Nat. Heimatkd. Magdeburg, 4: 294.

Triturus torosus — Dunn, 1918, Bull. Mus. Comp. Zool., 62: 450. Bishop, 1943, Handb. Salamanders: 95.

Taricha torosa klauberi Wolterstorff, 1935, Bl. Aquar. Terrarienkd., Stuttgart, 46: 179. Holotype: MM 108.22, by original designation; destroyed in W.W.II, according to Brame and Gorham, 1972, Checklist Living & Fossil Salamand. World (Unpubl. MS): 83. Type locality: "Boulder Creek, San Diego County, Californien", USA. Synonymy with Taricha torosa torosa by Schmidt, 1953, Check List N. Am. Amph. Rept., Ed. 6: 25-26.

Taricha torosa torosa — Wolterstorff, 1935, Bl. Aquar. Terrarienkd., Stuttgart, 46: 179, by implication.

Taricha torosa forma monstrosa Scharlinski, 1939, Abh. Ber. Mus. Nat. Heimatkd. Magdeburg, 7: 50. Syntypes: MM 4897 (many examples); destroyed in W.W.II, according to Brame and Gorham, 1972, Checklist Living & Fossil Salamand. World (Unpubl. MS): 83. Type locality: "San Diego, California", USA. Nomen nudum.

Triturus torosus klauberi — Twitty, 1942, Copeia, 1942: 65–76; Myers, 1942, Copeia, 1942: 77-82; Stejneger and Barbour, 1943, Bull. Mus. Comp. Zool., 93: 7.

Triturus klauberi — Bishop, 1943, Handb. Salamanders: 80.

Taricha klauberi — Smith and Taylor, 1948, Bull. U.S. Natl. Mus., 194: 15.

Taricha torosa torosa — Schmidt, 1953, Check List N. Am. Amph. Rept., Ed. 6: 25.

Taricha (Taricha) torosa — Dubois and Raffaëlli, 2009, Alytes, 26: 67.

Common Names

Pacific Water Lizard (Taricha torosa: Yarrow, 1882, Bull. U.S. Natl. Mus., 24: 22).

Capt. Beechey's Salamander (Salamandra beecheyi: Gray, 1831, in Cuvier, Animal Kingdom (Griffith), 9—Appendix 107).

Beechey's Salamander (Salamandra beecheyi: Gray, 1839, in Beechey (ed.), Zool. Capt. Beechey’s Voy.: 98).

Warty Salamander (Taricha torosa: Cooper, 1859, Nat. Hist. Washington Terr.: 305; Cooper, 1860, Rep. Upon Explor Surv. Route Railroad Mississippi–Pacific Ocean, 12 (Book 2, Pt. 3, No. 4): 305).

Giant Newt (Tarich torosa: Stejneger and Barbour, 1917, Check List N. Am. Amph. Rept.: 7).

Pacific Coast Newt (Triturus torosus: Slevin, 1928, Occas. Pap. California Acad. Sci., 16: 22).

California Newt (Taricha torosa: Stejneger and Barbour, 1917, Check List N. Am. Amph. Rept.: 7; Bishop, 1943, Handb. Salamanders: 95; Stebbins, 1951, Amph. W. North Am.: 21; Schmidt, 1953, Check List N. Am. Amph. Rept., Ed. 6: 26; Conant, Cagle, Goin, Lowe, Neill, Netting, Schmidt, Shaw, Stebbins, and Bogert, 1956, Copeia, 1956: 175; Stebbins, 1966, Field Guide W. North Am. Rept. Amph.: 38; Collins, Huheey, Knight, and Smith, 1978, Herpetol. Circ., 7: 9; Liner, 1994, Herpetol. Circ., 23: 15; Frank and Ramus, 1995, Compl. Guide Scient. Common Names Amph. Rept. World: 36; Collins, 1997, Herpetol. Circ., 25: 10; Stebbins, 2003, Field Guide W. Rept. Amph., Ed. 3: 166; Liner and Casas-Andreu, 2008, Herpetol. Circ., 38: 35; Collins and Taggart, 2009, Standard Common Curr. Sci. Names N. Am. Amph. Turtles Rept. Crocodil., ed. 6: 16; Tilley, Highton, and Wake, 2012, in Crother (ed.), Herpetol. Circ., 39: 31; Highton, Bonett, and Jockusch, 2017, in Crother (ed.), Herpetol. Circ., 43: 34).

Warty Newt (Taricha klauberi [no longer recognized]: Bishop, 1943, Handb. Salamanders: 80).

Coast Range Newt (Taricha torosa torosa: Schmidt, 1953, Check List N. Am. Amph. Rept., Ed. 6: 26; Conant, Cagle, Goin, Lowe, Neill, Netting, Schmidt, Shaw, Stebbins, and Bogert, 1956, Copeia, 1956: 175; Stebbins, 1966, Field Guide W. North Am. Rept. Amph.: 39; Collins, Huheey, Knight, and Smith, 1978, Herpetol. Circ., 7: 9; Liner, 1994, Herpetol. Circ., 23: 15; Frank and Ramus, 1995, Compl. Guide Scient. Common Names Amph. Rept. World: 36; Collins, 1997, Herpetol. Circ., 25: 10; Stebbins, 2003, Field Guide W. Rept. Amph., Ed. 3: 167; Tilley, Highton, and Wake, 2012, in Crother (ed.), Herpetol. Circ., 39: 23; Liner and Casas-Andreu, 2008, Herpetol. Circ., 38: 35).

Distribution

Coastal California from the vicinity of San Diego north to middle Mendocino County, north of San Francisco; and the western slopes of the Sierra Nevada Range south of the Main Fork of the Kaweah River, Tulare County, eastern California, USA.

Geographic Occurrence

Natural Resident: United States of America, United States of America - California

Endemic: United States of America, United States of America - California

Comment

See accounts by Nussbaum and Brodie, 1981, Cat. Am. Amph. Rept., 273: 1–4, and Petranka, 1998, Salamand. U.S. Canada: 473–478 (both of which treated Taricha sierrae as a subspecies. Stebbins, 2003, Field Guide W. Rept. Amph., Ed. 3: 166–167, provided a brief account, figure, and map. Hedgecock and Ayala, 1974, Copeia, 1974: 738–747, reported on genetic divergence and noted that Taricha torosa exhibits strong allozymic variation suggesting that is is composed of at least three geographic components. Kuchta, 2005, in Lannoo (ed.), Amph. Declines: 904–908, provided a detailed account (in the sense of including what is now Taricha sierrae) that summarized the biology and conservation literature. Kuchta and Tan, 2006, Biol. J. Linn. Soc., 89: 213–239, reported on allozymically defined units within Taricha torosa and their biogeography (including what is now Taricha sierrae). Raffaëlli, 2013, Urodeles du Monde, 2nd ed.: 176–177, provided a brief account, photograph, and range map. Altig and McDiarmid, 2015, Handb. Larval Amph. US and Canada: 137–138, provided an account of larval morphology and biology. Altig and McDiarmid, 2015, Handb. Larval Amph. US and Canada: 137–138, provided an account of larval morphology and biology. Raffaëlli, 2022, Salamanders & Newts of the World: 335–336, provided an account, summarizing systematics, life history, population status, and distribution (including a polygon map).    

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