Ensatina eschscholtzii eschscholtzii Gray, 1850

Pictured is a specimen of Ensatina eschscholtzii eschscholtzii ("Monterey Ensatina"), from Riverside Co., CA.   Five other subspecies of Ensatina eschscholtzii are recognized.   All six  subspecies of Ensatina eschscholtzii occur in California, as does the only other member of the genus, Ensatina klauberi ("Large-blotched Ensatina").  For many years, E. klauberi was considered to be a subspecies of Ensatina eschscholtzii, although it and E. e. eschscholtzii (above), which represent the two southernmost populations of Ensatina, differ markedly in coloration and behave as two distinct species in areas of sympatry.  Members of the genus are distributed in a ring around California's great Central Valley.