Ring species of the salamander Ensatina
in the western United States
One species (E. oregonensis) is found
in the north and up into Oregon and Washington. It then
divides in northern
California and forms a more or less continuous ring around the
San Joaquin
Valley. The Salamanders vary in form from place to place, and
consequently
they have been given a number of taxonomic names. Where the
coastal and
inland sides of the ring meet in southern California, the
salamanders behave
as good species at some sites (black zones on the map)."
[Picture from
Thelander (1994); text from Hickman et al. (1993)]