P
pat
Guest
I have been catching salamanders all over western PA ever since I was able to. I always thought I was catching the northern two lined salamander and jefferson salamander.
However, today I went out to the park behind my apartment to look for salamanders for the first time since highschool and when I found them, I concluded that what I though were jeffersons are not. They look like some sort of Plethodontidae, however I am not sure. they have the same general body type as other plethodontidae and have those big cheeks where their gills used to be. also, I found them under rocks by a stream, some were even under rocks that were partially underwater. (Eurycea perhaps?)
the salamander is maybe 4-5 inches long and the one I brought home to try to identify is brownish grey with whitish grey speckles down the side of it. I saw some that were more brown than grey. I think it looks a little like the leadback morph of the redback salamander (less white spots on the side), however I found them in water so it probably isn't.
the last clue is that I have found this kind of salamander all over the place in streams like this one from western PA to my grandfathers house in cincinatti, OH. So I'd say that its pretty common in this area. Does anyone have any guesses?
also, since I am pretty sure it is Plethodontidae and I have found it in the same place as northern two lined salamanders, do you think it would be ok to consult the care sheet for northern two lined salamanders in order to find out how to care for these salamanders?
However, today I went out to the park behind my apartment to look for salamanders for the first time since highschool and when I found them, I concluded that what I though were jeffersons are not. They look like some sort of Plethodontidae, however I am not sure. they have the same general body type as other plethodontidae and have those big cheeks where their gills used to be. also, I found them under rocks by a stream, some were even under rocks that were partially underwater. (Eurycea perhaps?)
the salamander is maybe 4-5 inches long and the one I brought home to try to identify is brownish grey with whitish grey speckles down the side of it. I saw some that were more brown than grey. I think it looks a little like the leadback morph of the redback salamander (less white spots on the side), however I found them in water so it probably isn't.
the last clue is that I have found this kind of salamander all over the place in streams like this one from western PA to my grandfathers house in cincinatti, OH. So I'd say that its pretty common in this area. Does anyone have any guesses?
also, since I am pretty sure it is Plethodontidae and I have found it in the same place as northern two lined salamanders, do you think it would be ok to consult the care sheet for northern two lined salamanders in order to find out how to care for these salamanders?