Ambystoma talpoideum

This is Ambystoma talpoideum or the mole salamander. The name fits well because it kept trying to burrow under my sleeve. Once there, it would become calm and did not move much. I found it at the last place we got out of the vans at Donnelley Wildlife Management Area under a log in an area that looked like it had been burned recently. Compared to most of the salamanders we have found, it was much squatter than the rest. They are facultatively paedomorphic and may remain in the larval stage for their entire life. The one I had found had metamorphosed since it did not have external gills and was found on dry(ish) land. The mole salamander is also a burrower, which makes its flat head useful for getting under things. The mole salamander also is easily distinguishable by the two vertical stripes on the belly and the costal grooves