About Isthmura bellii (Gray, 1850)
Isthmura bellii (Gray, 1850), commonly called Bell's false brook salamander or Bell's salamander, is a species of salamander belonging to the family Plethodontidae. This species is endemic to Mexico. It occurs mostly along the western and southern margins of the Mexican Plateau, with additional isolated populations found in other locations across the country. Its natural habitats are high-elevation pine forests and pine-oak forests, as well as forest edges and grazed areas. It can tolerate habitat modification, and is also found in degraded forests, coffee plantations, rural gardens, and areas close to urbanized and highly disturbed sites. This terrestrial species is typically found under logs, rocks, waste timber, and brush piles, as well as within leaf litter. While it was once a common species, Isthmura bellii has disappeared from many of its former locations. The causes of this population decline are not clear, even though habitat loss is ongoing across the entire range of the species.
