| Species ID | 020055 |
| Name | Yucatan salamander |
| Other Common Names | |
| Category | 02 Amphibians |
| Phylum | |
| Subphylum | |
| Class | Amphibia |
| Subclass | |
| Suborder | |
| Family | Plethodontidae |
| Genus | Bolitoglossa |
| Species | yucatana |
| Subspecies | |
| References | 1 |
| Scientific Synonyms | Spelerpes yucatana, Peters, 1882 |
Comments on Distribution
1* There is a population in northern Belize that is apparently isolated from the Mexican populations.
Comments on General Food Habits
1* A specimen taken from a small mammal trap in Quintana Roo had ants in its mouth (P. Tucker, in litt.), but beyond that nothing is known concerning the diet of these salamanders, which probably feed on a variety of small invertebrates.
| References/Lifestage | Reference Numbers |
| General | 1 |
| References/Lifestage | Reference Numbers |
Life History Narrative
Although a large series was obtained at an aguada near Yaxcopoil, Yucat n, by collectors from the Carnegie Museum, this is an uncommon salamander, or at least an infrequently encountered one. In spite of its fully webbed feet, B. yucatana is apparently terrestrial. Specimens have been found beneath surface debris in thorn forest, and I have taken them in tropical evergreen forest on roads at night following heavy rains. Dunn (1926:415) recorded two large adults "dredged from the Sacred Cenote at Chich‚n Itz ." At Ticul, Yucat n, a specimen was found in shallow soil at the base of a tree stump (P.E. Moler, pers. comm.), and Duellman (1965:586) reported a specimen (as B. mexicana) found beneath a log at the edge of a cenote in Yucat n. Surface activity is likely restricted to the rainy season. At other times these salamanders probably sequester themselves deep within the recesses of the karsted limestone that abounds throughout their range. A specimen taken from a small mammal trap in Quintana Roo had ants in its mouth (P. Tucker, in litt.), but beyond that nothing is known concerning the diet of these salamanders, which probably feed on a variety of small invertebrates. Reproduction has not been investigated in detail, but the first report of reproduction in any Neotropical salamander was Barbour and Cole's (1906:155) description of a B. yucatana "taken, together with a single egg, in the damp earth near a watering trough on March 7" at Chich‚n Itz . Thus, like other Bolitoglossa, this species produces terrestrial eggs, and the embryos undergo direct development. This lone observation suggests that oviposition may occur during the dry season and that the female may attend the eggs, as some other members of the genus do (McDiarmid and Worthington, 1970:66). The interpretation of this observation is clouded, however, by Dunn's (1926:415) assertion that the specimen in question (MCZ 2431) is not an adult.
Life History References
1
| References/Result | Reference Numbers |
1 Lee, Julian C. 1996. The Amphibians and Reptiles of the Yucat n Peninsula. Comstock Publishing. Ithaca. Pp. 44-46.