#spring salamander

[herpsandbirds]

Blue Ridge Spring Salamander (Gyrinophilus porphyriticus danielsi), family Plethodontidae, Blue Ridge Mountains, Eastern U.S.

photographs by Tristan Clark

[vintagewildlife]

Spring salamander (Gyrinophilus porphyriticus) By: Charles E. Mohr From: Living Amphibians of the World 1966

[forestfeeling]

Literally cried over the first critter

[sitting-on-me-bum]

A lungless species called the spring salamander. It’s been known to cannibalize other salamanders.

Benji Jones/Vox

[platycryptus]

the other day I had a look at this cold forest spring in upstate NY

where within a very short time I was able to locate the holy trifecta of stream salamanders

——

Two- lined salamander (Eurycea bislineata):

the smallest and most common, this lad can be found almost anywhere with cool, flowing water. This individual is kind of dull, but they’re immediately recognizable by their yellowish coloration and yellow belly.

My favorite thing about these guys is their eggs, which have strikingly white embryos.

(not my photo)

Frog eggs are typically black to absorb heat and speed their growth, but most salamanders require cold temperatures- hence why cold springs are some of their favorite habitats. Twolines breed in summer, so they have white eggs to reflect heat.

-

Allegheny mountain dusky salamander (Desmognathus ochrophaeus):

There’s actually two nearly identical species in the region. Based on the shape of its tail, this one appears to be the rarer of the two, ochrophaeus.

Duskies are fast, powerfully built and hard to catch. They can jump with their muscular hind legs and are quick to burrow into mud and gravel. This one is a small, probably young individual- they can grow over 5”.

-

annnnd finally, the one I’d never seen before, the northern spring salamander (Gyrinophilus porphyriticus):

First, notice that it already dwarfs the other two salamanders. Indeed, it’s the biggest plethodontid (lungless) salamander I’ve ever seen. Now have a look at those gills- this thing’s just a baby at 4”. Adults can reach 9” and have a particularly strong habit of eating smaller salamanders.

(not my photo- it’s eating a dusky salamander)

The genus name, Gyrinophilus, means “tadpole lover”, referring to the 3-4 years they spend as larvae before losing their gills. It’s probably because the adults also spend most of their time in the water, so no need for a hasty metamorphosis.

Spring salamanders are usually only found around the cold, pristine water of springs, and are rather rare as a result. All three of these salamander species belong to the family Plethodontidae, all of which lack lungs and breathe entirely through their skin and cannot live outside of very moist, oxygen- rich habitats. Some species are adaptable, but they are believed to have originally evolved in the well- oxygenated mountain streams of the Appalachians in the late Cretaceous. The mountains of the southeastern US is still where the overwhelming majority of the 380 species of plethodontids are found. Most of these species have limited ranges and very specific habitat requirements. They’re threatened by pollution, climate change (salamanders need it cold!) and the potential introduction of the deadly fungal disease Batrachochytrium salamandrivorans, similar to the fungus which decimated frogs in the western US and neotropics.

If you live somewhere that has clean flowing streams and a variety of cool salamander species, I recommend going to see them before you can’t anymore.

[sunflowerapocalypse]

Herpetology lab!!

[indigosepiacarmine]

spring break 2k19

[scarletandgreyexotics]

Found a bunch of cute things while visiting a friend who lives in the middle of nowhere.