SANTA CRUZ LONG-TOED SALAMANDER 



Ambystoma macrodactylum croceum 



KINGDOM Animalia 



CLASS Amphibia 



ORDER Urodela 



FAMILY Ambystomatidae 



OTHER COMMON NAMES None 



DATE 



Entered into SWIS To be determined 



Updates 15 November 1979 



LEGAL STATUS 



Federal Endangered (32 FR 4001, 11 March 

 1967) 



States Endangered: California (21 May 1971) 



REASONS FOR CURRENT STATUS 



This salamander was first discovered in 1954 



(Russell and Anderson 1956). It is now known to 

 occur in only six localities near the coast in the 

 Monterey Bay region of central California. This 

 area is undergoing accelerated residential and 

 commercial development that once destroyed or 

 threatened to disrupt populations of this salaman- 

 der. The type locality at Valencia Lagoon was 

 drastically disturbed by freeway construction and 

 related storm drainage channels between 1955 

 and 1969, and acceleration of residential con- 

 struction nearby threatens the upland habitat of 

 the species. A second population, about 6.4 km 

 to the southeast, occurs in and near an ephemeral 

 pond, which was threatened in 1971 with being 

 developed as a trailer park. This action was not 

 taken. These were the only known populations up 

 to 1972. Recently, a population was discovered at 

 Seascape, between Valencia Lagoon and Ellicott, 

 and three sites with a few individuals were located 

 near Elkhorn Slough, about 18 km south of 

 Valencia Lagoon. The four later sites all appear to 

 be threatened by agricultural or subdivision devel- 

 opment. 



