Ensatina

Credit: Brian Gratwicke

Ensatina eschscholtzii

Description

Other names: Oregon Ensatina; Red Salamander; Ensatina eschscholtzii oregonensis

The Ensatina is a lungless, entirely terrestrial species that occurs in North America from British Columbia south to Baja California in Mexico. There are seven recognized subspecies within its range. In British Columbia there is only one subspecies, the Oregon Ensatina. They have a relatively short body. Their total length (including the tail) reaches a maximum of 15 cm. In Canada, they tend to be a uniform brown to pinkish with yellow or brown flecking on the sides. The belly is pinkish and is covered in dark speckling. They can be identified by having 12-13 costal grooves, long legs, and a distinct constriction at the base of the tail.

Listen to the Indigenous words for “salamander” here!

Similar Species

The Ensatina may be easily confused with the Northwestern Salamander, Wandering Salamander, or melanistic versions of the Western Red-backed Salamander. However, all of these species lack a constriction at the base of the tail that is characteristic of the Ensatina. The Northwestern Salamander does not have nasolabial grooves, is larger, and has distinct parotid glands behind the eyes. Wandering Salamanders has light gray, bronze, or gold mottling and speckles on the back, and have long toes with squared ends. Melanistic Red-backed Salamanders have much smaller legs relative to their bodies.

Juvenile Ensatina

Northwestern Salamander

Wandering Salamander

Western Red-backed Salamander

Distribution

In British Columbia, Ensatina are found west of the Coast and Cascade mountain ranges. They occur on Vancouver Island, along the mainland coast north to Kitlope, and in the Fraser Valley as far east as Boston Bar.

Habitat

The Ensatina is a non-migratory species that can be found in a variety of habitats but is typically seen in forests. They require moist habitats and are commonly associated with areas with abundant woody debris and leaf litter. They are fully terrestrial and will overwinter below the frost line in talus slopes, mammal burrows, root hollows, and other underground cavities.

Reproduction

Ensatina will breed either in the spring or the fall and females will lay anywhere from 3-25 eggs (typically 8-10) in the spring under logs, in rotting stumps, or other moist environments on the forest floor. Females will guard the eggs until they hatch 3-5 months later in August or September. The young do not have a larval stage, and the gills are usually absorbed before hatching. Ensatina will reach sexual maturity after 3-4 years and females will only breed every other year in Canada. Ensatina have a lifespan of up to 15 years.

Diet

Ensatina are a predatory species, hunting during wet weather for small invertebrates such as spiders, mites, beetles, crickets, worms, termites, and snails.

Conservation Status

Global: G5 (2016)

COSEWIC: NAR

Provincial: S4 (2016)

BC List: Yellow

Learn more about conservation status rankings here

Threats

The primary threat to Ensatina in Canada is habitat loss, largely from logging and urban development. Pollution, such as herbicides, agricultural effluent, and road salt can be detrimental to salamanders since toxins are easily absorbed through their skin. Climate change and introduced pathogens pose potentially serious future threats to Canadian salamanders.

Did You Know?

When threatened, Ensatina may point their tail towards the threat and excrete poison from glands on their tail. If captured, they may autotomize (drop) their tail, which continues to wriggle, creating a diversion so they may escape the danger. The tail will eventually grow back, however, the individual will have lost much of its fat reserves that it relies on to survive the winter.

Ensatina are lungless salamanders as the adults do not have gills or lungs, but instead absorb oxygen through their skin. Thus, they need high humidity to remain moist at all times so oxygen and carbon dioxide can diffuse through the skin.

Species Account Author: Marcus Atkins

References

B.C. Conservation Data Centre. 1996. Species Summary: Ensatina eschscholtzii. B.C. Minist. of Environment. Available: https://a100.gov.bc.ca/pub/eswp/ (accessed Jun 3, 2021).
B.C. Conservation Data Centre. 2016. Conservation Status Report: Ensatina eschscholtzii. B.C. Minist. of Environment. Available: https://a100.gov.bc.ca/pub/eswp/ (accessed Jun 3, 2021).
 B.C. Conservation Data Centre. 2021. BC Species and Ecosystems Explorer. B.C. Minist. of Environ. Victoria, B.C. Available: https://a100.gov.bc.ca/pub/eswp/ (accessed Jun 3, 2021).
E-Fauna: https://linnet.geog.ubc.ca/efauna/Atlas/Atlas.aspx?sciname=Ensatina%20eschscholtzii
Canadian Herpetological Society: http://www.canadianherpetology.ca/species/species_page.html?cname=Oregon%20Ensatina