J
john
Guest
I took the Salamander Course form UTK's Field School. Spent Saturday at 4 different sites, from a southern hardwood forest at 900 feet to the spruce/fir forest at 6000 feet. At lower elevations, we found adults and juveniles, at the middle elevations adults and larvae, and gravid females at higher elevations.
Found the following species:
Spotted Dusky Salamander (Desmognathus conanti)
Santeetlah Dusky (D. santeetlah)
Seal Salamander (D. monticola)
Black-bellied (D.quadramaculatus)
Shovel-nosed (D. marmoratus)
Ocoee (D. ocoee)
Imitator (D. imitator)
Pigmy (D. wrighti)
Southern Red-backed (Plethedon serratus)
Northern Slimy (P. glutinosis)
Southern Appalachian (P. teyahalee)
Red-cheecked (Jordan's) (P. jordani)
Black-chinned Red (Pseudotriton ruber)
Blue Ridge Spring (Gyrinophilus prophyriticus)
What struck me, even more than the variety of species, was the abundance of these little guys. In suitable habitat, there were salamanders under all available cover. My personal best was five individuals of three different species under one rock.
Our instructor had a brilliant idea for having a group of 12 people look at an individual salamander - we put the little guys in Ziploc bags with a couple mLs of water. That way we could all handle them, and even look at their bellies, without overheating or dehydration.
Of course, that wasn't very photogenic. So we had our shutterbugs set up around an appropriate stage (usually a mossy rock) where we'd release the specimen. The little guy would have to make its way through these salamander paparazzi to safety.
It was a great day in the Smokies. Consider attending next spring.
Found the following species:
Spotted Dusky Salamander (Desmognathus conanti)
Santeetlah Dusky (D. santeetlah)
Seal Salamander (D. monticola)
Black-bellied (D.quadramaculatus)
Shovel-nosed (D. marmoratus)
Ocoee (D. ocoee)
Imitator (D. imitator)
Pigmy (D. wrighti)
Southern Red-backed (Plethedon serratus)
Northern Slimy (P. glutinosis)
Southern Appalachian (P. teyahalee)
Red-cheecked (Jordan's) (P. jordani)
Black-chinned Red (Pseudotriton ruber)
Blue Ridge Spring (Gyrinophilus prophyriticus)
What struck me, even more than the variety of species, was the abundance of these little guys. In suitable habitat, there were salamanders under all available cover. My personal best was five individuals of three different species under one rock.
Our instructor had a brilliant idea for having a group of 12 people look at an individual salamander - we put the little guys in Ziploc bags with a couple mLs of water. That way we could all handle them, and even look at their bellies, without overheating or dehydration.
Of course, that wasn't very photogenic. So we had our shutterbugs set up around an appropriate stage (usually a mossy rock) where we'd release the specimen. The little guy would have to make its way through these salamander paparazzi to safety.
It was a great day in the Smokies. Consider attending next spring.
