Way back on our first trip to the Francis Marion Forest, the same one when we got stuck in the mud, we got to use all the tools, like the dip nets and the waders, for the first time. I was really excited to catch all sorts of crazy animals on that warm February day. After the second hour of trying to catch something, anything, to no avail, I was getting fairly impatient. We were on our way back I got to check the last trap before we got to the van. I pulled it out of the water and found something moving around in it. I found something!
Of course, by find I mean lifted up a trap that had been sitting there for awhile, but I still was the first to see it. We pulled this thing out of the trap and it turned out to be a salamander. We could see that it was dark colored with a short chunky body and a large head, all characteristics of the Mole Salamander, Ambystoma talpoideum. It was about 8 centimeters long, which is within the average for the species. As the picture shows, this specimen had five toes on its hind legs and four on its front, a characteristic of the family Ambystomatidae. It also was lacking a naso-labial groove and had costal grooves, more evidence for the identification as a Mole Salamander.
It is interesting to note that almost ever single time I have gone out looking for herps since that day in Francis Marion, I have only found things when we have been on our way to the van to leave. Maybe its nature trying to leave a good impression so I will still always want to go out hunting for more herps. Anyway, it was a great day in the Francis Marion and a fun experience overall.
Andrew See
Charleston, SC
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