Sunday, April 6, 2008

Our first catch!


The first week we went out for class the water was still frozen and there was snow on the ground. I don't think we thought we were going to catch anything! After searching for a long time I found this guy under a rock near the edge of the stream. He is a northern dusky salamander, Desmognathus fuscus, but just a larva. His keeled tail helped us to identify him. The very young ones may have pairs of round yellowish dorsal spots that are bordered by a dark wavy band. The base of tail is often lighter than the dorsum, which you can see on this guy here. He is a member of the Plethodontidae family, which are the lungless salamanders.

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