[5][6] The Sonoma County, south San Joaquin, and the Santa Barbara County DPS have diverged from the rest of the California tiger salamander populations for over one million years, since the Pleistocene[7] and they may warrant status as separate species.

The California tiger salamander has brown protruding eyes with black irises.

The California tiger salamander depends on vernal pools and other seasonal ponds and stock ponds for reproduction; its habitat is limited to the vicinity of large, fishless vernal pools or similar water bodies.

Historically, the California tiger salamander probably occurred in grassland habitats throughout much of the state.

On August 4, 2004, the US Fish and Wildlife Service listed the California tiger salamander as threatened within the Central DPS, effective September 3, 2004, reaffirming the prior endangered listings of the other distinct population segments and extending protection to all remaining populations.

This underground phase has often been referred to as estivation (the summertime equivalent of hibernation), but true estivation has never been observed, and fiber optic cameras in burrows have allowed researchers to witness salamanders actively foraging.

Recent discoveries, such as overwintering, have management implications for this threatened species, particularly when aquatic habitats undergo modification.