On our class field trip to Dixie Plantation, right outside the Charleston, our group explored the area in search of local herps. We first visited a swamp location where we retrieved small basket traps that were previously set throughout the area. In many of the traps, we found minnows, tadpoles, and crayfish, with the occasional unique species mixed in with the group. As the last few traps were retrieved by Asa, our TA, we could see through the basket holes that one of them had a big dark cylindrical herp. Upon opening the trap, we discovered a stout adult two-toed Amphiuma (Amphiuma means). It had internal gills, a very shiny appearance with the dorsum dark black and venter dark gray having a very subtle transition, and four tiny limbs with two toes each. It is not surprising that we discovered an Amphiuma means in one of our traps, as their diet includes tadpoles, fish, and crayfish, hunting largely by smell.
This species is restricted to the southeastern United States, and their habitats consist of swamps, bayous, margins of muddy sloughs, cypress heads, sluggish streams, wet meadows, and muddy lakes. They are also able to aestivate by burrowing in the mud. This slender aquatic species is the largest of the family, and it is longest salamander species in the United States. Fertilization is internal and females lay their eggs at the interface of water and land with nests in moist microhabitats, instead of in a strict aquatic habitat, and the clutch size is between 30-200 eggs, having a positive correlation to the females body size. Considering metamorphosis, amphiumas hatch as larvae with external gills, then as they transition to juveniles the lose their external gills.
Dr. Welch warned us to handle this individual with care, as they are known for biting (although they are not venomous), however no one could quite get a hold of the amphiuma due to the mucous covering its skin, making it too slimy to hold. Anyone who attempted to get a hold of the amphiuma ended up with slime covered hands. We decided that this must be a great tactic for escaping predation.
Source:
https://amphibiaweb.org/cgi/amphib_query?where-genus=Amphiuma&where-species=means
