Body Size Measurements (Hasumi)

Body Size Measurements

An apparatus for measuring body size characteristics (e.g., snout-anterior vent length, snout-posterior vent length, tail length) of salamanders, without using anesthesia, with an example of the salamander Salamandrella keyserlingii, inhabiting Darhadyn Wetland, Mongolia (photographed on 15 August 2005).

I handcrafted this apparatus with a transparent cover plate (22.5 x 14 cm piece of 2 mm thick acrylic plate), base plate (23 x 14.5 cm sheet of 1 mm thick aluminum), hard sponge (22 x 13.5 cm, 2 cm thick) with some hollows for appropriately accommodating variously sized individuals, and elastic band (1.5 cm wide) at one side instead of the hinges and stop bolts, by a modification of Wise and Buchanan's (1992) method.

Wise, S. E., and B. W. Buchanan. 1992. An efficient method for measuring salamanders. Herpetological Review 23: 56-57.