Stats

Lifespan: 8-12 yrs
Size: Small
Diet: Insectivore
Activity: Nocturnal
Social: Solitary
Biome: Temperate forest
Range: North America
Movement: Walking
Breeding: Egg-laying
Defense: Camouflage
Status: Common

About

A worm-thin lungless salamander found across coastal and foothill California, breathing entirely through its skin and the lining of its mouth. When threatened it coils tightly and can spring away in an erratic thrashing leap to escape predators.

Life cycle

1.
egg
A jelly-coated egg is laid in water and develops over days into an aquatic larva.
2.
tadpole
A gilled tadpole swims and grazes on algae, slowly absorbing its tail and growing limbs.
3.
juvenile
A near-adult amphibian leaves the water with new legs and lungs, smaller than the mature form.
4.
adult
Fully grown at adult size, breathing air.

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Taxonomy

Kingdom: Animalia
Phylum: Chordata
Class: Amphibia
Order: Caudata
Family: Plethodontidae
Genus: Batrachoseps
Species: Batrachoseps attenuatus