Data source

There are 32 amphibian taxa currently found in the Sierra Nevada region of California. Thirty of these taxa are native species or subspecies; nine are frogs and toads and twenty-one are salamanders. The bullfrog (Rana catesbeiana) is non-native and the tiger salamander (Ambystoma tigrinum) is of unknown origin and may have been introduced to reservoirs in the Owens Valley as fish bait. The following range maps for the 32 amphibian taxa was compiled by Mark Jennings of the California Academy of Sciences, as part of the Sierra Nevada Ecosystem Project (SNEP). His report on the status of amphibians in the Sierra Nevada is found in Sierra Nevada Ecosystem Project: Final report to Congress, volume II, Assessments and scientific basis for management options, pg 921-944. The range maps were created using current and historical information from verified sightings and museum records. The accuracy for each amphibian taxon range varies, depending on the number of records available.

The range maps from the report were digitized into Arc Info coverages, using county boundaries as geographic reference points. The resultant polygons are estimated to be accurate at a scale of 1:2,000,000. We converted all native amphibian taxa polygons (including the Owens Valley tiger salamander) to a grid, with a cell size of 5000 m. All thirty grids were then overlayed to create a grid depicting taxa richness for the Sierra Nevada region.

Index to Native amphibians of the Sierra Nevada,California.

Ambystomatidae - mole salamanders