As we walked up the river there was an area near the bank that had a ledge of rocks over it. It was quite shaded and there was nobody really around. I thought to myself, I wonder what lurks in the shadows. I headed over towards the bank and began rolling over many many rocks. Finally, just as I was about to call it quits I saw a little salamander scurrying around. Success!
It was a southern two-lined salamander, Eurycea cirrigera, and it was very small. It took me a minute to round it up and hold onto it. It seemed like it did not want to be disturbed. It was slender with a rusty orange color. It was also missing one of its back legs, definitely not my doing. The lines on its back were not very defined (not as much as the North usually). It is currently the breeding season for these little guys and I was unsure if it was perhaps a female guarding a clutch, however I did not notice any eggs around the rock where I found it. I also did not check for cirri to determine its gender. I let the little critter go back under the rock and he scurried back into the shadows.
(Alex Hauenstein)
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