Marbled Salamander

When searching through the woods on our last field trip, I commented to my friend that I really wanted to find a marbled salamander (Ambystoma opacum) because it is my favorite and I think one of the prettiest. A few people had caught some marbled salamander larvae but no one had caught an adult yet. We were searching the base of a tree near a stagnant ribbon of water, lifting logs to try and find a skink that we had caught the barest glimpse of. My friend lifted a log underneath the tree and I spotted something black and white that starkly stood out from the red soil underneath. It was indeed a marbled salamander. These are easily identifiable by the black background with white or grey crossbands and spots depending on the gender. Females have a grey foreground, while males have white crossbands. The one I caught was definitely female, about 3 inches long. She was rather docile when held, not really squirming around as much as I would have thought she'd be. Marbled salamanders are rather chunky and are typically found in moist sandy areas. After being handled for a few minutes, she started to feel dry so we kept dribbling water over her while she was in our possession. By the time I took her back to her log, she started emitting a slimy and sticky coating, presumable as a way to keep from drying out. I was happy to have found what I had wished for.