Afraid to post in wanted forum

I am wanting a certain species of salamander. It is indigenous to parts of Southern Mexico and Guatemala. But after reading the legal warnings on the wanted forums I feel I might become a "wanted" criminal by doing so. Could someone elaborate and/or tell me where I can go to find the appropriate information about the salamander Bolitoglossa lincolni/resplendens that I am required to know before posting a want ad? (One must exercise great caution before writing such things in our great "free" society.)

Mark, Bolitoglossa tend to die within a few weeks of captivity. They are very stressed from capture/shipping, and die soon after. Even few professionals have managed to keep them in long-term captivity (I'm sure Ed will chime in on this; he knows more than I do). This is why they should not be taken from the wild.

There are two commonly imported species of Bolitoglossa at this time, B. dolflini and B. mexicana. Both of these species have a very very poor survivial rate for a number of reasons but typically they are infected with chytrid and have little to no fat reserves.

As for the two species you are inquiring after the first is found in Guatamala which does not export any herps at this time so any specimens will be smuggled and illegal. The second species if I remember correctly is a Mexican species. Mexico also does not export any of its native herps and again any available individuals would be smuggled and therefore illegal.

At this time, the only documented Bolitoglossa captive breeding was for B. mexicana in Europe. I have not seen any indication that this was repeated.

Many of the Bolitoglossa species are very range restricted (to the point where one species has already been driven extinct before being described (B.aquatica)). These populations are so small that any collection could push the population below the threshold needed to be viable (as in these area, collection for the pet trade is not done in an enviromentally friendly manner. The habitat is destroyed to get all the animals that can be located).

Ed

thanks for the detailed information. i assume the info (that there are certainly NO captive animals here in the us, and all wc are illegal) implies i am NOT to post a want ad.

btw, i think b lincolni/resplendens indicates one species; the latter being the old species name.

Hi Mark,

As I understand it, this is a species complex of Bolitoglossa that look very similar. Do you know if there has been any DNA work to clarify the group?

Ed

ed

no. all i know is what i've seen on the net. for example, here's one of the sites that calls resplendens a synonym:
http://www.itis.usda.gov/servlet/Sin...h_value=208395
it's the first site that comes up when you google bolitoglossa-lincolni.

-mark

B. lincolni is one of the world's more visually appealing salamander species. It's a shame that it's not as abundant and as easy to care for in captivity as some other species.

Alas, one can only dream..

(Message edited by tmarmoratus on April 23, 2006)