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Question: Determining Species of Salamander Larvae

Sean Brady

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I live just east of Albany, NY. The other day I went down the 30-40 foot hill in my backyard to this pond next to the creek. The pond is a result of the creek flooding and is home to countless frogs and several baby snapping turtles. The pond is no longer than 15 feet and no wider than 7. I found some salamander larvae and I would like to know what species they are because they look different from the larvae I have found of Two-lined salamanders in the creek. Also, the only salamanders I have ever been able to find here are red-backs and two-lined salamanders although I have heard of people finding Spotted salamanders in this area in the past.

The following links show images I DID NOT TAKE. I FOUND THEM ON THE WEB. But they look identical to my larvae. According to their websites, the first image is supposedly a Marbled salamander larva and the second a Spotted.
http://www.wildlife.state.nh.us/Wil.../salamander_images/MarbleLarvae2-Marchand.jpg
http://i.pbase.com/o4/94/339594/1/64377497.UVZYDYrz.IMG_9020.JPG

Again, I only find red-backs and two-lined salamanders in this area, and I am almost positive that these larvae are not two-lined because I have found two-lined larvae before in the creek and they look completely different.
Is it even possible to determine the species now, or do I have to wait until they mature?
I have never found larvae that look like this in this area before and they only seem to be in this pond which is the result of the creek flooding.

Also, I house these larvae in a suitable container and I just scooped up tons of daphnia and added them in. Can they survive with just the daphnia? Of all the hundreds of salamanders and newts I have riased or kept in captivity, I have kept larvae only once and it didn't work out.
 
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Greatwtehunter

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From the description of a pond it sounds like a perfect place to find Ambystomaid larvae. This late it the year would also lead me to lean towards them being Ambystoma maculatum aka spotted salamanders. The first thing you need to do is check with the local game and fish department to make sure it is legal to keep them and if so how many you can keep. As for food, I don't know their size right now but they should be big enough to be feeding on whiteworms, blackworms, and/or chopped nightcrawlers. Daphnia will not support them for very long due to their size and appetite.
 

Sean Brady

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Thank you for your help. I hope they are spotted salamanders because that would mean that they still do live around here. And both larvae are now about an inch long.
 
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