AN ANNOTATED LIST 
OF THE 
Amphibians and Reptiles of 
San Diego County, California 
By FRANK STEPHENS 
Class Amphibia 
Order CAUDATA. Salamanders. 
Young salamanders begin life as aquatic animals, breathing 
by means of gills. Later in life a transformation occurs; the 
gills disappear and the animal then breathes by means of lungs 
and are adapted for life on land. The skin is not covered with 
scales. The limbs are small and comparatively weak. They re- 
tain their tails through life. 
Family PLETHODONTID~. 
1. ARBOREAL SALAMANDER. Aneides lugubris. 
The only San Diego County occurrences known to me are— 
Walls of the San Diego River, Sorrento Mountain near La Jolla, 
and in the Sequoia Mine. Probably more common than these 
records indicate. 
2, SLENDER SALAMANDER. Batrachoseps attenuatus. 
In wet weather these little lizard-like animals may be found 
under boards lying on the ground and under stones in the coast 
region; and in the mountains under rotten logs. In the dry 
season they burrow in the soil. 
Order SALIENTA. Toads and Frogs. 
Toads and frogs begin life as aquatic animals (tadpoles), in 
a manner similar to salamanders, and like them transform from 
water breathing to air breathing animals; but in the transforma- 
tion they lose their tails. The limbs, acquired in the transforma- 
tion, are comparatively long and strong. The food is insects 
caught on the tip of the protruded tongue. They are principally 
nocturnal. 
Family PELOBATID/E. 
3. WESTERN SPADEFOOT TOAD. Scaphiopus hammondi. 
Two San Diego specimens are in the collection of the Natural 
History Museum; one was taken in May, the other in August. 
