Yolo County Species List and Database Gaps

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yoloherper
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Joined: June 7th, 2010, 8:57 pm
Location: Davis/Santa Cruz

Yolo County Species List and Database Gaps

Post by yoloherper »

There are currently 505 records from Yolo County, but almost 300 of these are pond turtles, red-eared sliders, and gopher snakes alone. There are quite a few species that should or might occur in the coast range on the western edge of the county, but unfortunately, most of this land is privately owned.
Here's what we have so far
Reptiles
Snakes
Western Yellow Belly Racer Coluber constrictor mormon
Sharp-tailed snake Contia tenuis (only 5 records)
California Kingsnake Lampropeltis getula californiae
Pacific Gopher Snake Pituophis catenifer catenifer
Aquatic Gartersnake Thamnophis atratus ssp. (only 1 record)
Giant Gartersnake Thamnophis gigas (only 5 records)
Valley Gartersnake Thamnophis sirtalis fitchi
Northern Pacific Rattlesnake Crotalus oreganus oreganus (only 2 records that appear to be the same individual)
Turtles
Western Pond Turtle Actinemys marmota
Red-eared Slider Trachemys scripta elegans
Lizards
California Whiptail Aspidoscelis tigris munda (only 2 records)
California Alligator Lizard Elgaria multicarinata multicarinata
Variegated Skink Plestiodon gilberti cancellosus (only 1 record)
Northern Brown Skink Plestiodon gilberti placerensis (only 2 records. Based on Californiaherps.com range maps these might be intergrades)
Western Skink Plestiodon skiltonianus skiltonianus (only 4 records)
Western Sagebrush Lizard Sceloporus graciousus gracilis (only 1 record)
Northwestern Fence Lizard Seloporus occidentalis occidentalis
Amphibians
Frogs
California Toad Anaxyrus boreas halophilus (only 2 records)
American Bullfrog Lithobates catesbeianus (only 5 records, 3 of which aren’t vouchered)
Sierran Treefrog Pseudacris sierrae (only 5 records)
Salamanders
California Slender Salamander Batrachoseps attentuatus (only 2 records)

And here are the species that are expected to, used to, or possibly occur in the county
Reptiles
Snakes
Saint Helena Mt. Kingsnake Lampropeltis zonata zonata- coast range on western edge of county. Should occur at higher elevations along the Napa County line
California Striped Racer Coluber lateralis lateralis- coast range on western edge of county. I've seen one but failed to voucher it
San Joaquin Coachwhip Coluber flagellum ruddocki- historic record in Colusa County near Yolo County line in foothills, though this population seems to be extinct
Pacific andNorthwestern Ring-necked Snakes Diadophis punctatus amabilis and occidentalis- coast range on western edge of county. According to Californiaherps.com, both subspecies should be present, but may just be intergrades
California Nightsnake Hypsinglena ochrorhyncha nuchalata- foothills and coast range on the western edge of the county
Long-nosed Snake Rinocheilus lecontei- historically occurred in foothills in the western part of the county
Lizards
Blainville's Horned Lizard Phyrnosoma blainvillii- unconfirmed historic record from Davis though very unlikely that even if this record is correct, this species is still present
Mediterranean Gecko Hemidactylus turcicus- records from Davis. A friend of mine has found multiple in her house, but I was never able to see one when I was there
Turtles
Possible introductions?
Amphibians
Frogs
Foothill Yellow-legged frog Rana boylii- coast range on western edge of the county
California Red-Legged Frog Rana draytonii- historic record from nearby in northwestern Solano County and eastern Napa County but seems unlikely that they have held on anywhere in Yolo
Western Spadefoot Spea hammondii- Historic records from near Davis and records from near Dunnigan as recent of 2000
Salamanders
Coast Range Newt Tarich torosa torosa- coast range on western edge of the county
California Tiger Salamander Ambystoma californiense- aproximately 10 year old records in foothills in the northern part of the county
Arboreal Salamander Aneides lugubris- coast range on western edge of county
Black Salamander Aneides flavipunctatus flavipunctatus- Record from extreme northwestern part of county. Habitat in the area looks questionable though
California Giant Salamander Dicamptodon ensatus- Fish and Wildlife maps show them on the western edge of the county, but based on habitat and records, this is likely a mistake
Ensatina Ensatina escholtzii ssp.- Fish and Wildlife range maps also show this species on the western edge of the county, but more reliable maps show the species edge about 10 miles west of the county line. If there are populations in Yolo County, they would likely be oregonensis edit: Dave Feliz has found E. e. xanthoptica in Solano County very close to the border, so they may be present in southwest Yolo as well
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El Garia
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Re: Yolo County Species List and Database Gaps

Post by El Garia »

Excellent list, Elliot! :thumb: Looks like a lot of time went into this. Thanks for putting this together!

Derek
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yoloherper
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Re: Yolo County Species List and Database Gaps

Post by yoloherper »

Thanks Derek,
I've been meaning to put this together for awhile and the recent activity on the other thread reminded me. I have a few good ideas of where to find 8 or 9 of the species (conditions and luck permitting), but now that I'm at school it's going to be harder to find time to fill in the gaps. I was hoping to add in some of the amphibians this winter/spring, but with the lack of rain, it might be pretty hard.
-Elliot
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Fundad
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Re: Yolo County Species List and Database Gaps

Post by Fundad »

Thanks Elliot.

I continued to be impressed with the people in our chapter, continuously.

Fundad
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Gluesenkamp
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Re: Yolo County Species List and Database Gaps

Post by Gluesenkamp »

Under Turtles, you list "possible introductions". There's a honker Chelydra serpentina in the UC Davis Zoology Museum collection that was caught in a duck trap in Putah Creek (on campus) back in the early 90s. It took many liters of formaldehyde to preserve that beast. I know of one old (early/mid 1980s) observation of a long-nosed snake just N of town.
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yolodave
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Re: Yolo County Species List and Database Gaps

Post by yolodave »

Great job Elliot.

A few notes: One of my Yolo skink records is actually not in Yolo County, so if you counted that one, one less.

Also I found an Ensatina about 300 feet from Yolo County (south of Putah Creek in a side canyon below Berryessa) and it was E. e.xanthoptica.Image

AmphibiaWeb shows E.e.oregonensis isn't that far away south of Clear Lake. Perhaps they both occur in the county.
http://berkeleymapper.berkeley.edu/inde ... acity=0.50

One should be able to find newts and ring necked snakes on the Yolo side of Putah Creek. Great reason for a Yolo hike.

I was planning to lead another trip to the Yolo Bypass in early April. Hope to see some of you then.


Dave
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yoloherper
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Re: Yolo County Species List and Database Gaps

Post by yoloherper »

Gluesenkamp, I figured that with all of the nonnative turtles around California, one would have been released in Yolo. And it's a shame that so much of the native habitat that likely used to have longnosed snakes is farm fields now. There's still some good looking habitat in the foothills, but like I mentioned before, so much is private. I figure roadcruising would probably be the best way to find one if they're still out there.
Dave, awesome find! I didn't know they had been recorded in Solano. I was looking at this range map http://www.biomedcentral.com/1471-2148/ ... ?highres=y which has oregonensis closest, but yours does look closer to xanthoptica. If you found it that close to Putah, I'd guess they make it across to Yolo so I'll add it to the list.
-Elliot
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