Originally uploaded by fieldherp

Jon and I ventured to a local park close to my home to scout out for some stuff and we came across a rather large Eurycea bislineata (Two-lined Salamander.) After our last venture revealed nothing but E.bislineata, we started to worry that the same would prove true for today. However, lucky for us we later found a juvenile Plethodon cinereus (Northern Redback Salamander) among some debris next to a vernal pool. The little juvenile was no longer than the tip of my thumb and had beautiful coloring! Surprisingly this is our first P.cinereus of ’08! I’m pleased to say it was quite photogenic as well.

P.cinereus is rather common in this area. If you aren’t familiar with them, there are a few things that make this slender woodland salamander unique. In terms of color, it often comes in two variants: Redback and Leadback (along with erythristic morphs as well.) The only real difference between them is color and they retain a consistant size, shape, and length. They co-inhabit the same space with little issue.

2008.02.10 – E. bislineata

Originally uploaded by fieldherp

I think the most fascinating aspect of these little guys is that they hatch fully formed and terrestrial and never go through the aquatic larval stage. The juvenile we found was in the shallow end of a vernal pool atop some leaves and under some bark. There was no sign of any others so I’m pretty sure he just wandered there. In the shade of the trees, Jon originally thought it was some kind of bug until he spotted the little legs. The second photo really gives you a good idea of his size against that of a normal-sized leaf. Too young to know gender, but we dubbed it “Rosa” for its pretty coloring.

In other news, I twisted my ankle this run so lets hope for a speedy recovery!

Check Here for the rest of the photos. Some of them are really cute!! Some good ones of that E.bislineata as well.

Originally uploaded by fieldherp

Well truth be told, we were looking for far more than E. bislineata (aka. Northern 2-lined Salamander) but it was all we managed to come up with. However, what we lacked in diversity we made up for in numbers. Jon, Stephanie and I caught a glimpse of 14 of them and managed to capture 8 to photograph before releasing them back into their home. We (or should I say Jon since he was the brawn of the operation) flipped rocks in a rather shallow creek. These little guys seemed to like a particular type of rock and by the end of our venture we could almost pinpoint which rocks would have a salamander below. It was rather fun and each time I set up my camera I would pause to add another one into the crate. They are extremely lively and streamlined and shine brilliantly in the sun. It was a shame that the weather was so overcast! We weren’t expecting to find too much with the prospect of snow and high winds, but it turned out to be a very fruitful adventure for the short amount of time we were out.

A little about E.bislineata: The ground color of the northern two-lined salamander can be yellowish, yellow-orange, greenish, brownish, or copper/bronze. Two dark brown or black lines begin on either side of the body, just behind the eyes and continue onto the tail. These lines break up into dashes and dots about midway or three-fourths of the way down the tail. Along the top of the body there can be dark speckling or mottling which may fuse to form an irregular, third line down the middle of the back. There is also a varying degree of darker mottling along the flanks and there may be 14-16 costal grooves. Sexually active males can be distinguished from females by the presence of enlarged jaw musculature, which gives the male a broader head than females, and a mental gland under the chin. Males in some populations also possess cirri, but they are absent from most. (Quoted from Caudata Culture)

2008.02.10 – E. bislineata

Originally uploaded by fieldherp

The color patterns are better visible in some of my other “wet” photos. The one here shows an excellent example of the range of color one can see in a single habitat area (everything from a brilliant yellow base to a dark rust variant.) I think we had a few males and a few females in the bunch based on their jaw/body. One of the females also appeared to be gravid which is a nice sign. I don’t think I would mind trying to raise a few from larvae if I ever happened to come across any. Of all the plethodontids, these seem particularly interesting/beautiful to me.

Check Here for the rest of the photos.