Confirm Eurycea?

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Hello all,

The following little guy is around 2.5 cm in length and was found in a slow-flowing stream in a valley of a mixed-hardwood forest in south MS. I think it's a Eurycea, but when I was discussing the specimen with another grad student, he seemed very surprised that I was putting it in that genus, rather than in Desmognathus. From what I've read in keys, Desmog. gills tend to have short rami (the projections off of which the gill filaments, or fimbrae, project). Any experienced herpers have other tips for telling the two species apart as larvae?
 

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Greatwtehunter said:
Looks like Eurycea guttolineata to me.
Click to expand...

I've been discussing how to distinguish cirrigera from guttolineata with others with a lot of field experience, and they've said that it can be difficult to do. I've seen guttolineata without any dorsal coloration at this size, or only with spots. What has been your experience?
 
Definitely Eurycea, I'd have to check some books to say which species.
 
taherman said:
Definitely Eurycea, I'd have to check some books to say which species.
Click to expand...

Speaking of books, which ones do you value most for helping to ID larvae? Right now I've just got Mitchell and Gibbons' Salamanders of the SE book and some published keys.
 
Frankly I find photographs on the internet to be the most help, but you've got to remember that photographers are not always 100% correct with their IDs. Having said that, it's been of great help to me. Petranka's book has written descriptions of most larvae and that has been very handy too. However, it's more of a tome than a field guide!

It's not a Desmognathus because the head shape is wrong and I believe there should be a cheek marking.
 
John said:
However, it's more of a tome than a field guide!
Click to expand...

How do you mean? Is it a tome because there are many spp. included that are really rare or have gone extinct?
 
"Tome" because it's a large book that works your arm's muscle groups very well :).
 
Haha! I guess I replaced the "e" with a "b." Now things make more sense.
 
Having seen a lot of larvae in the past 2 months, I'm going to agree with Justin. Definitely Eurycea and quite possibly E. guttolineata.
 
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