California Reptiles & Amphibians

Batrachoseps nigriventris - Black-bellied Slender Salamander

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Range in California: Red

Range Map of South Coast
Slender Salamanders

Dot-locality Range Map

Adult, San Luis Obispo County

Underside of adult , San Luis Obispo County

Adult, Santa Cruz Island,
Santa Barbara County

Adult, Santa Cruz Island, Santa Barbara County

Adults, Los Angeles County

Adult and Juvenile, Santa Barbara County

Similar Sympatric Species

Batrachoseps major major, Garden Slender Salamander (bottom) and B. nigriventris (top). Note the larger body and legs of B. m. major. B. nigriventris is black underneath, while B. m. major is light gray.

Batrachoseps incognitus, the San Simeon Slender Salamander (top) occurs with B. nigriventris (bottom) in northern San Luis Obispo County. B. incognitus has slightly larger legs and toes and neck.

The ranges of Batrachoseps gavilanensis, Gabilan Mountains Slender Salamander, and B. nigriventris overlap slightly.

B. nigriventris (left) occurs along with Batrachoseps gabrieli (right) at some locations in Los Angeles County. Note the larger more robust limbs and body of B. gabrieli. These two were found next to each other. © William Flaxington

Batrachoseps minor, the Lesser Slender Salamander, shown to the left, occurs entirely within the range of B. nigriventris. It is shown here with a small adult specimen of B. nigriventris which was found outside of the range of B. minor. B. minor has distinctly larger hands and feet.

Habitat

Habitat, San Luis Obispo County

Habitat, 3,800 ft., Los Angeles County

Santa Cruz Island

Description

Size

Adults are 1 1/4 - 1 7/8 inches long (3.2 - 4.7 cm) from snout to vent.

Appearance

A small slim salamander with 18 - 21 costal grooves. Short limbs, a narrow head, long slender body, very long tail, and conspicuous costal and caudal grooves give this species the worm-like appearance typical of most Slender Salamanders. There are four toes on the front and hind feet, which is also typical of Slender Salamanders. (Other California salamanders have five toes on the hind feet.) The tail may be up to twice the body length on mainland adults, but only up to the body length on adults from Santa Cruz Island. Color above is dark brown or blackish with a reddish, brown, or tan dorsal stripe. The venter is dark with fine white speckling.

Behavior and Natural History

Breathes through thin moist skin instead of lungs. Active on rainy or wet nights when temperatures are moderate, fall through spring. Retreats underground when the soil dries or when air temperature drops to near freezing. Found under rocks, logs, bark, and other debris.

Typical of most Slender Salamanders, when disturbed, this salamander may coil up and remain still, relying on cryptic coloring to avoid detection. It might also uncoil quickly and spring away, repeatedly bouncing over the ground, or drop its tail to distract a predator. The tail is easily broken off, but it can be regenerated.

Feeding behavior is not well known, but other Batrachoseps species are sit-and-wait predators that use a projectile tongue to catch prey.

Diet

Eats a variety of small invertebrates.

Reproduction and Young

Little is known about the Breeding behavior and egg-laying habits of this species.
Reproduction is terrestrial. Slender Salamanders typically lay eggs in moist places on land. In southern California, B. nigriventris lays eggs in the winter which hatch in winter and early spring. Eggs have been found in early December in the Coast Range. Young hatch fully formed.

Range

Endemic to California. Found in mountains and valleys of the coast range from southern Monterey County south to the Santa Ana Mountains, including the Tehachapi, Santa Monica and San Gabriel Mountains east to Cajon Pass. Also found on Santa Cruz Island.

Coexists with B. gabrieli in the San Gabriel mountains, with B. minor, B. gavilanensis and B. incognitus in the Coast Range, with B. m. major in Los Angeles and Orange counties, with B. stebbinsi in the Tehachapi mountains, and with B. pacificus on Santa Cruz Island.

Habitat

Inhabits mostly oak woodlands but also found inchaparral, grasslands, streamsides, and oak and pine forests. Found under rocks, logs, bark, and other debris in moist areas. On Santa Cruz Island, occurs in streamside Eucalyptus forest, under coastal driftwood, in oak woodland, and in open grassland.
South of the Tehachapi Mountains, this species is found mostly in moist mountain and foothills canyons.
From sea level to around 8,200 ft. (2,500 m.)

Taxonomic Notes

Animals from the western slope of the central and southern Sierra Nevada mountains previously identified as B. nigriventris,
were re-described as B. gregarius in 1998.
In 2000, Wake and Jockusch determined that B. nigriventris consists of three distinct lineages which include those found from Monterey County south to the Tehachapi Mountains, those found south of the Tehachap Mountains from Ventura and Los Angeles south to the Santa Ana Mountains and east to Cajon Pass, and those found on Santa Cruz Island.

Conservation Issues (Conservation Status)

None.

Taxonomy
Family	Plethodontidae	Lungless Salamanders
Genus	Batrachoseps	Slender Salamanders
Species	nigriventris	Black-bellied Slender Salamander
Original Description
Cope, 1869 - Proc. Acad. Nat. Sci. Philadelphia, Vol. 21, p. 98 from Original Description Citations for the Reptiles and Amphibians of North America © Ellin Beltz
Meaning of the Scientific Name
Batrachoseps: Greek - amphibian, frog lizard - describes lizard-like appearance. nigriventris: Latin - black ventris of the belly, referring to the dark venter. from Scientific and Common Names of the Reptiles and Amphibians of North America - Explained © Ellin Beltz
Alternate Names
Blackbelly Slender Salamander
Similar Neighboring Salamanders
Batrachoseps incognitus Batrachoseps minor Batrachoseps gavilanensis Batrachoseps gabrieli Batrachoseps major major
More Information and References
Natureserve Explorer California Dept. of Fish and Game AmphibiaWeb Stebbins, Robert C. A Field Guide to Western Reptiles and Amphibians. 3rd Edition. Houghton Mifflin Company, 2003. Behler, John L., & F. Wayne King. The Audubon Society Field Guide to North American Reptiles and Amphibians. Alfred A. Knopf, 1992. Bartlett, R. D. & Patricia P. Bartlett. Guide and Reference to the Amphibians of Western North America (North of Mexico) and Hawaii. University Press of Florida, 2009. Bishop, Sherman C. Handbook of Salamanders. Cornell University Press, 1943. Lannoo, Michael (Editor). Amphibian Declines: The Conservation Status of United States Species. University of California Press, June 2005. Petranka, James W. Salamanders of the United States and Canada. Smithsonian Institution, 1998.

Conservation Status
The following status listings come from the Special Animals List which is published several times each year by the California Department of Fish and Game. This salamander is not included on the Special Animals List, meaning there are no significant conservation concerns for it in California according to the California Department of Fish and Game.
Organization	Status Listing
U.S. Endangered Species Act (ESA)	None
California Endangered Species Act (CESA)	None
California Department of Fish and Game	None
Bureau of Land Management	None
USDA Forest Service	None
Natureserve Global Conservation Status Ranks
World Conservation Union - IUCN Red List

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