They are Ambystoma opacum. This species belongs to the mole salamander family, also known as Family Ambystomatidae. They stay underground for the majority of their lives. The family is destinctive with their stout-bodies and larger heads. They have four toes on the front legs and five toes on the hind legs. This particular pair were juvenilles and probably siblings, due to sharing of the same home and their age being approximately the same. We came to the conclusion that they are more than likely female, due to the grey coloration, versus the white bands in males. The size and presence of some speckles brought us to the conclusion that they were juvenilles. They are also clearly metamorphs because they lack the external gills were found on land. Marbled salamanders are found all over the southeast of America, ranging from Northeastern borders and as far southwest as the border of Texas and Louisianna.
Family Ambystomatidae are unique in that they have costal grooves, and have the ability to be facultative paedomorphs or metamorphic depending on their habitat. Hybridization can also occur in this family and in some cases (not Marble Salamanders), certain species within this family can undergo gynogenesis. This was such a cool discovery, especially since they were under the second log that I had flipped over!
1 comment:
They're so cute! Whether or not they were siblings might depend on whether more than one clutch had been laid in the nearby ephemeral pool the previous year. I don't think they're known to show kin recognition, so sharing a log would probably just reflect proximity to the place they metamorphosed.
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