THE CENTER FOR NORTH AMERICAN HERPETOLOGY

Amphibia    Caudata    Plethodontidae  

Black-bellied Slender Salamander
Batrachoseps nigriventris Cope, 1869
buh-TRAY-koh-seps — nig-ree-VEN-triss

SSAR 9th Edition Comments:
 There are no current SSAR comments for this taxon.

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Occurrences:; 8,701 Total; 5,602 Museum; 3,099 Other
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Province/State Distribution:
United States: California

Taxonomic Etymology:
Named for its ventral coloration.
Batrachoseps — Greek batrachos = “frog” + seps = “lizard.”
nigriventris — Latin niger = “black” + venter = “belly” — “black-bellied.”

First instance(s) of published English names:
Black-bellied Lizard (Batrachoseps niriventris: Yarrow, Henry C. 1882. Check list of North American Reptilia and Batrachia with catalogue of specimens in U. S. National Museum. Bulletin of the United States National Museum (24):1-249); Blackbelly Slender Salamander (Batrachoseps nigriventris: Collins, Joseph T., James E. Huheey, James L. Knight, and Hobart M. Smith. 1978. Standard common and current scientific names for North American amphibians and reptiles. Herpetological Circulars (7):36);

Taxon Links:

  
Catalog of American Amphibians and Reptiles
  
Amphibian Species of the World
  
NatureServe
  
iNaturalist
  
GenBank
  
USGS - Nonindigenous Aquatic Species Database

Selected References:
1869 Cope, Edward D. A review of the species of the Plethodontidae and Desmognathidae. Proceedings of the Academy of Natural Sciences of Philadelphia 21:93-118
1949 Stebbins, Robert C. and Charles H. Lowe. The systematic status of Plethopsis with a discussion of speciation in the genus Batrachoseps. Copeia 1949(2):116-129
1954 Hendrickson, John R. Ecology and systematics of salamander of the genus Batrachoseps. University of California Publications in Zoology 54(1):1-46
1993 Arnold, Steven J., Nancy L. Reagan, and Paul A. Verrell. Reproductive isolation and speciation in plethodontid salamanders. Herpetologica 49(2):216-228
2010 Kozak, Kenneth H. and John J. Wiens. Accelerated rates of climatic-niche evolution underlie rapid species diversification. Ecology Letter 13:1378-1389
2014 Highton, Richard. Detecting cryptic species in phylogeographic studies: Speciation in the California Slender Salamander, Batrachoseps attenuatus. Molecular Phylogenetics and Evolution 71:127-141

THE CENTER FOR NORTH AMERICAN HERPETOLOGY — Accessed: Tuesday 28 July 2026 16:40 CT