Description
Bolitoglossa insularis is a moderately large, robust salamander (female SVL 64.7 mm). The snout is rounded dorsally, with prominent labial protuberances. The head is narrow, flat, and slightly demarcated. Eyes are moderate in size, protrude slightly, and are visible beyond the jaw margin when observed from below. This salamander has an indistinct postorbital groove, a defined subocular groove, and a distinct gular fold that extends dorsolaterally to lower level of eye, but lacks a sublingual fold. A groove located posterior to the mandible appears as a weakly defined depression anterior to the gular fold. Maxillary teeth (41) reach eye level and vomerine teeth (23) reach the choanae. Limbs are relatively slender and long; adpressed limb separation is about 3.5 costal folds. Digits of hands and feet are rounded and fully webbed but lack subdigital pads. Fingers increase in length from IIn life the dorsal surfaces of Bolitoglossa insularis are brown with dark brown spots. Two poorly defined dark brown dorsolateral markings extend from behind the forelimb insertions nearly to the groin area. Ventral surfaces of the body, limbs, and tail are light grayish brown, mottled with small dark brown spots. The ventral surface of the head is reddish brown, with a pair of thin ventrolateral stripes created by the absence of brown spots. Labial protuberances are pale brown. Hands and feet are brown ventrally (Wake et al. 2008).

Distribution and Habitat

Country distribution from AmphibiaWeb's database: Nicaragua

View distribution map in BerkeleyMapper.

Bolitoglossa insularis is found on the premontane slopes of Volcán Maderas on Ometepe Island, southwestern Nicaragua. It is known only from the type locality in pristine premontane moist forest, at 800 m asl (Wake et al. 2008).

Life History, Abundance, Activity, and Special Behaviors
Presumed direct developer as is the case for other members of the genus Bolitoglossa. The holotype was found in a thin branch of a bush, 1.5 m above ground level. At the time it was found there was no rain but it was cloudy with occasional fog.

Comments
The species name insularis derives from Latin and means "of islands." (Wake et al. 2008).

References

Wake, D. B., Sunyer, J., Sebastian, L., Hertz, A., Aleman, B. M., Robleto, S. J., and Kohler, G. (2008). ''Two new species of salamanders (genus Bolitoglossa) from southern Nicaragua.'' Senckenbergiana Biologica, 88, 319-328.

Species Account Citation: AmphibiaWeb 2009 Bolitoglossa insularis <https://amphibiaweb.org/species/7236> University of California, Berkeley, CA, USA. Accessed Nov 21, 2024.

Citation: AmphibiaWeb. 2024. <https://amphibiaweb.org> University of California, Berkeley, CA, USA. Accessed 21 Nov 2024.

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