Black-bellied Slender Salamander (Batrachoseps nigriventris)

Created: February 4th, 2010 - 10:35 AM
Last Modified: February 4th, 2010 - 10:36 AM Entered by: Jonathan Hakim
Record 37732

Country: United States		State: California	County: Los Angeles County	Time: 2010-02-03 15:12:00
Qty: 1	Age: Adult	Sex: --	Method: Artificial cover flipping	Habitat: Field below scrub hills
Body Temperature: -----		Air Temperature: -----	Ground Temperature: 52.00F	Humidity: -----
Sky Conditions: Partly Cloudy		Moon Phase: -----	Elevation: 257.00ft	Barometric Pressure: -----

Notes

Was surprised to flip this salamander after flipping lizards all day. This section of the board was shaded by long grass and 20 degrees cooler than the other boards that had been flipped. I believe that this slender salamander shows the characteristics of B. nigriventris, but the ID is somewhat uncertain.

Vouchers

Comments

Posted by Brian Hinds-AKA Fundad on Feb 04, 2010 at 08:06 PM

Really hard for me to tell through the pictures... And I am no expert..

Posted by Jonathan Hakim on Feb 04, 2010 at 11:48 AM

I should note - it is the narrow head and the darkness of the bottom of the tail that makes me lean towards B. nigriventris still.

Posted by Jonathan Hakim on Feb 04, 2010 at 11:45 AM

This was the first of a number of uncertain salis on the day. I need a slender salamander expert to start looking at the PV slenders I'm finding and say something definitive. There was another salamander on this day that looked much more like a B. major than this one, but still not quite like the B. major I've seen in other parts of LA County.

Posted by Brian Hinds-AKA Fundad on Feb 04, 2010 at 11:14 AM

I know that spot, know who set it up, and couple of those boards are mine.. :) to me it looks like a Major Major...