[1] This salamander is endemic to and only found in the forested regions of the southern Sierra Nevada south of the Lower Kern River.

Much of the salamander's habitat is in the Sequoia National Forest between Bakersfield and Lake Isabella.

The Kern Canyon slender salamander is dark brown in color with bronze and reddish spots covering its 2-inch length.

It lives in damp leaf litter and emerges during high humidity or rain, and stays dormant in underground holes and crevices during the dry season.

Batrachoseps simatus is considered a California endangered species, and this status is matched by the IUCN Red List.