A Salamander Adventure

[andrew]

Went out today to Upstate NY, don't want to give the exact location to protect the animals from overcollecting, etc...

The woods were practically teeeming with these guys,
Ambystoma laterale, Blue Spotted Salamander. Absolutely gorgeous animal!!!

The Red Backed Salamander, or Plethodon cinerues. This is a lungless salamander. One under almost every rock.

And Nopothalmus viridescens, Eastern Red-Spotted Newt. These are the immature forms of the this species. They are called Red-Efts as they are red compared to the adults which brown or tan in color. The Redness indicates toxicity. These guys were just walking willy nilly across the woods in big numbers. The adults, not pictured

were found in nearby wetlands underwater in large congregations!
http://s106.photobucket.com/albums/m249/Wetlands2006/Week%204/?action=view&current=Notopthalmusviridescens-video.flv]

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And finally a Pseudacris crucifer. Spring Peeper. These guys were calling in the woods.

 

[joan]

Andrew, you should realize by now that the tag does not work on this board. You need to physically upload the pictures from your computer onto the board. This makes it easier for us to view them, and keeps you from getting chastised by the moderators.

Good pics, looks like you had fun.

 

[dane]

are you sure thats a blue spotted, the specks are to white I think it is a slimy sal
http://www.caudata.org/cc/species/Plethodon/P_glutinosus.shtml

 

[andrew]

Others have said its probably a slimy. Thanks all,
I will try to post pics the way you guys want from now on. I'll see if I can edit this post.

 

[alberto]

Great pictures Andrew!

Thank you for taking the time to post them for all to see!

 

[andrew]

Ok, as to the identity of the first guy,
He wasn't slimy. Do they always, always turn on the slime factor? Also, he definetly had a bluish tinge to his body. Do you guys still think its a slimy sally rather than a blue spotted sally?

 

[dane]

Im pretty sure it is, blue spotteds are generally chunkier, and the spots are from a dark blue to a baby or sky blue, the nose is rounder an a blue, and I cant really tell but it looks like there are only 4 toes in its hind feet, blues have 5 toes

 

[andrew]

Hmmm it looks like 4 toes on this pic: