Possible new Slender Salamander species???
So in January of this year a friend and I somewhat accidentally discovered an isolated population of slender salamanders over here in Stockton. Ever since then I have been doing a little personal field research myself to learn more about this population. Well about a month into it I had a crazy idea that these guys might be so isolated that they are a possible new subspecies or new species altogether. Some novice evidence to my theory was a white-spotted belly which isn't common in the B. attenuatus I find in the coast ranges. Well today on December 13, 2015 I happened to find 4. The very first individual I caught was being very cooperative with me and I decided to count the costal grooves on them. This is a better way of identifying the differences in species but it is not always guaranteed. Well I counted, and I could be wrong, but I counted 24 costal grooves. B. attenuatus has 18-21. I could've counted wrong but if I am right I think I might have just discovered a new subspecies or species. I was thinking of getting a DNA test on these guys to see if they are still B. attenuatus or not. Any suggestions or ideas guys? I would be more than glad to take any of them and would be greatly appreciated if I get any!
