Black-bellied slender salamander

This salamander prefers California chaparral and woodlands habitats of Coast live oak - Quercus agrifolia and California sycamore - Platanus racemosa. ==Description==

The black-bellied slender salamander is about 3.1 to 4.3 cm long. It has a worm-like body, a small head and small limbs, and a long cylindrical tail, often twice the length of its body. The black-bellied slender salamander can have a black, tan, reddish, brown or beige dorsum often with a contrasting broad mid-dorsal stripe of similar colors. It has a purplish or black venter with fine light speckling over the entire surface. This species will coil its body and tail when handled; it is fragile and easily injured. Batrachoseps nigriventis looks similar to the related species Batrachoseps pacificus and Batrachoseps gabrieli. == Reproduction ==

These salamanders reproduce by laying eggs, which are usually buried underground and thus rarely seen. == Food web ==

The diet of the black-bellied salamander is poorly documented but is probably similar to the diet of the garden slender salamander, which includes worms, larva, small terrestrial arthropods and mollusks. ==References==