had the chance to do some hiking around my ole' stomping ground in upstate South Carolina. I stayed on Lake Hartwell, which can be a beautiful lake when the water level is adequate, and traveled mainly around the Clemson, Seneca, and Wahalla areas that weekend. On a beautiful Friday I decided to return to Whitewater Falls to do some hiking, one of the largest free flowing water falls east of the Mississippi.Whitewater Falls is located on the Whitewater River, and is immediately beyond the South Carolina line into North Carolina. The views are awesome, and the hiking is even better, especially when you go in the off season when no body is around.
The trail at Whitwater Falls ties into the Foothills trail and eventually turns into the Palmetto trail, which runs from the upstate to the coast. The trail can be somewhat treacherous, especially after rains, but if you take your time you can utilize the trail for herping, as I did this day.
The area around Whitewater Falls is a typical foothills/mountain ecosystem, composed of many small mountains and hills, with waterfalls, seepages, and creeks. As I mentioned, the water was definitely flowing, so I knew where to look to try to find some salamanders. My target was really any salamander, but I was looking for a species from the family Plethodontidae. This family has many species that inhabit these mountainous areas, and they can be found in seepages with flowing water, hidden under rocks and substrate.
To my surprise it took me about a minute to find a salamander! They are awful hard to catch, but when you do catch one it makes it worth the effort. I immediately knew this individual was in the genus Desmognathus by noticing its large, robust back legs in comparison to its fore legs. After closer inspection I narrowed it down to either a seal salamander (Desmognathus monticola) or a mountain dusky salamander (Desmognathus ochrophaeus). The mountain dusky salamander can have a huge variation on color, so it appeared almost impossible to be able to correctly ID one from this species. However, the seal salamander is greenish grey to brown, with wavy worm-like marks on its back, with a pale belly. Also, the posterior half of its tail is keeled, and laterally compressed. This description matches my catch very well, and I found it in a habitat known to have seal salamanders, so I was SOLD, it's a seal salamander (Desmognathus monticola).
Unlike other species in the family Plethodontidae that are direct developers, this species actually has an aquatic larvae stage. Another interesting fact, the mother will guard the eggs until they hatch. This poor guy seems to have lost his front left foot in a battle, but I'm sure it won't slow him down.
(Ryan M. Wenzel, Charleston, SC)
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