On our first field trip to Frances Marion National Forest we found many mole salamander juveniles (Ambystoma talpoideum). The adult salamander returns to water to lay her clutch, the eggs hatch and the young salamanders grow and develop in the water until they mature at which point they will become terrestrial. The specimens we found were around two inches in length and had very distinct gills. The salamanders were found in a variety of different places all over the swampy area; most were found in the minnow traps that had been set, however some were captured using dip nets. I grew up catching amphibians and reptiles without using nets or traps and was never very successful so I was surprised at how many salamanders we captured.
(Haley Huckabee, SC)
1 comment:
Haley, you're too modest - you were the champ at dipnetting these little guys!
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