These little salamanders are very common in the woods on the Monterey peninsula, and even in the yards. They range in dorsal color from the reddish brown here to very dark brown, nearly black.

Recent studies on slender salamanders have continued to divide them into more and more species. Most available books include these Monterey Bay salamanders in the species Batrachoseps pacificus, the Pacific Slender Salamander. In 2001 researchers split it out into its own species.