By Jerry Redding II
Geographic Range
Ambystoma californiense is isolated from Ambystoma tigrinum, with which it was once considered conspecific. It is endemic to California, and are found in the Central Valley and adjacent foothills and coastal grassland (Petranka 1998, Loredo et al. 1996).
Habitat
Ambystoma californiense likes a Mediterranean climate of cool wet winters and hot dry summers. They inhabit annual grasslands and open woodlands of foothills and valleys. Ground squirrel burrows are necessary for the survival af A. californiense (Petranka 1998, Loredo et al 1996).
Terrestrial Biomes:
savanna or grassland 
; chaparral .
Physical Description
male SVL 80-108 mm
female SVL 79-118 mm
Ambystoma californiense has broad rounded snouts with small eyes. It is a lustrous black and marked with rounded or irregular yellow spots. Bellies are a grayish color and may contain a few small dull yellow spots. These salamanders have 12 costal grooves on their sides (Petranka 1998).
Reproduction
Ambystoma californiense breeds from late winter into early spring in large temporary ponds. They are explosive breeders, meaning they emerge, breed quickly, and then return to their burrows. They may breed two or three times a year this way. Juveniles migrate from these ponds to underground burrows in the spring during the rains. They are especially vulnerable to dehydration and heat stress during their overland movement (Petranka 1998, Loredo et al. 1996, Holland et al. 1990). They are rarely seen, due to nocturnal breeding migrations, and living in burrows underground (Loredo et al. 1996). Females attach one egg at a time to twigs, grass stems, vegetation, or detrious. These eggs are covered by a vitelline membrane and three jelly coats. They are distinguished by a pale yellow brown coloring and are about 2 mm in diameter (Petranka 1998). Eggs hatch 2-4 weeks after deposition (Petranka 1998, Barry and Shaffer 1994). Larvae coloring is yellowish gray. They are similiar to adults, except for large dorsal fins extending onto the back, and large feathery gills (Petranka 1998).
Behavior
Ambystoma californiense burrows into Spermophilus spp. (ground squirrels) and other rodent burrows near their natal pond. Adults are able to move at a rate of 50.8 meters per hour, while juveniles can only move at a rate of about 30.9 meters per hour. Adults use the same migratory pattern year after year (Petranka 1998, Loredo et al. 1996).
Food Habits
Ambystoma californiense larvae eat aquatic invertebrates (Petranka 1998, Barry and Shaffer 1994). Adults are known to eat earthworms. They feed with a three part gape cycle, tongue extension cycle, and anterior head body movement common to ambystomatids (Beneski et al. 1995).
Conservation Status
Special Concern species in California (Holland et al. 1990)
Category I species on Federal Endangered Species List (Loredo et al. 1996)
Other Comments
Habitat loss is a big problem for Ambystoma californiense. Urban development and agriculture is eliminating its natural habitat. It is preyed upon by introduced species of fish and bullfrogs (Loredo et al. 1996). Ambystoma californiense has toxic skin secretions (Loredo et al. 1996), probably as a defense mechanism against the rodents it shares burrows with. The ground squirrel populations are controlled throughout much of California (Petranka 1998). This is another way in which Ambystoma californiense individuals are losing thier homes. Due to this, the ways in which ground squirrels are controlled and where they are controlled should be taken into consideration.
Contributors
Jerry Redding II (author), Michigan State University.
James Harding 
(editor), Michigan State University.
