ts; the others are larvae. In life the salamanders were
blackish to olive-brown above with scattered cream-colored dots on the
dorsum and flanks but in preservative are dull grayish black with
indistinct pale spots and dark reticulations. The belly is pale gray
with indistinct dark spots. Eleven females and three males have the
following measurements, respectively: snout-vent length, 76.0-90.0
(80.7), 64.0-84.0 (74.3); tail length, 70.0-81.0 (75.0), 58.0-71.0
(66.7); head width, 19.5-23.5 (20.7), 17.5-20.5 (19.3); head length,
22.0-25.0 (23.0), 20.0-22.5 (21.5). The smallest larva has a snout-vent
length of 43.0 mm. and a tail length of 38.0 mm. Two individuals have 12
costal grooves; the others have 11. All of the females contained eggs,
the largest of which were 1.5 mm. in diameter. The stomachs of most of
the specimens were distended with oligochaets, aquatic insect larvae,
and small aquatic beetles.
A series of 34 larvae (JRD 5904-37) from 46 kilometers east of Morelia
are tentatively referred to this species. These specimens are
olive-brown above with cream-colored spots on the flanks; the dorsal
tail-fin does not extend onto the body.
This species has been found only at elevations in excess of 2400 meters
in pine and fir forests. At Rancho Axolotl James A. Peters collected
larvae and neotenic individuals in a rocky stream and adults from
beneath rocks and logs in the forest near the stream. Neotenic
individuals and larvae were found in a clear stream in pine-fir forest
at an elevation of 2700 meters near San Jose de la Cumbre; specimens
were collected there in July, 1955, and again in July, 1956. The site
was visited in April, 1956, at which time the stream consisted of only a
few puddles; no salamanders were found.
~Ambystoma tigrinum velasci~ Duges
_Ambystoma velasci_ Duges, La Naturaleza, ser. 2, 1:142,
1888.--Laguna Santa Isabel, near Guadalupe Hidalgo, Distrito
Federal, Mexico.
_Ambystoma tigrinum velasci_, Dunn, Copeia, no. 3:157,
November 14, 1940.
Patzcuaro (5); Tacicuaro (9).
Definite specific assignment of these specimens, all larvae, cannot be
made at this time. They have shovel-shaped heads and laterally
compressed bodies with the dorsal tail-fin extending anteriorly to the
back of the head. The eyes are small. The body is pale tan with dark
mottling on the tail and flanks. The average snout-vent length for nine
specimens from Tacicuaro is 61.0 mm.
The
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