Black-bellied Slender Salamander

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.

This salamander prefers California chaparral and woodlands habitats of Coast live oak - Quercus agrifolia and California sycamore - Platanus racemosa. Its range is reported to extend from Monterey County, south to Santa Barbara County, and includes Santa Cruz Island. It is a local, year-round resident found in these South Coast and Transverse Ranges. Suitable habitat for the black-bellied slender salamander consists of moist areas including leaf litter, woody debris, and drainages found in open forests and chaparral habitat. These features provide sheltered spaces, the moist, darker conditions that the salamander needs. On Santa Cruz Island, the species has been found in Eucalyptus forests, in oak woodlands, and in open grasslands. South of the Tehachapi Mountains, it is found primarily in moist foothill canyons. This species occurs alongside other slender salamanders in its range. These include B. major in Los Angeles and Orange Counties, as well as B. minor and B. incognitus in the Coast Ranges and B. gabrieli in parts of the San Gabriel Mountains.

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. Potential predators include gray foxes, skunks, raccoons, skinks, and ringtails.