Southern Two-lined Salamander (Eurycea cirrigera)

So last Thursday (4/22), Tammy and her friend took our herp class to Hueston Woods. We were about 20ish minutes from Oxford. We had parked on the side of the road. Before we even stopped, I had told the guys that I believe today will be the day I catch multiple species, haha. So after we put our gear on, we began to walk down this slight hill. The stream was right in front of us. It was a "still water" stream, but more of a "calmly moving water" stream. There were a lot of rocks in the stream and even a few waterfalls. The weather was 72 and partly cloudy. It was about 1:15pm.

So we are walking down this stream, everyone and scattered around looking for all types of herps. And then it happened, I lifted a rock that was just outside the stream line in the dirt. Under the rock there was a......2-lined salamander!! Yes, a northern 2-lined salamander (Eurycea cirrigera)! I know we have caught these before, but this one was different, maybe because I caught it?? haha. Plus, I don't think anyone has blogged about these tiny little guys yet. This salamander was typical size (about 4" long) and looked identical to the picture posted here. Unfortunately Tammy didn't get a picture of it, I guess luck just wasn't on my side with Tammy and her camera. It looked light brown with small spots running down it's back. It seems like it was just trying to hide from people and just be alone. I'm assuming it was a male, but I'm not certain. These guys are known to be around streams, creeks, etc and are usually found under rocks, logs, etc. So it was no surprise that I found him.

These salamanders typically lay their eggs in May, about 30 or more eggs. These eggs are found typically under rocks in the water. The larvae hatch about a month later and these salamanders reach sexual maturity around 2-4 years. In all, it was a good day for me in Herp Lab, I really enjoyed myself and the company of my fellow classmates and Tammy.

POSTED BY TOM KOWALKSI