Marbled Salamander

 On February 27, our Herpetology class went to Dixie Plantation for our first field trip. Live traps were set up in the swamp at the plantation. We walked down a path and swamps were on either side. After receiving and checking some of the traps and noting what was caught, I decided to check the other side. The water of the swamp is tea colored from the leaf debris, it is quite a nice place to live if you are a herp. I was looking down at the water, which was clear before one steps and kicks up the dirt. I saw a little creature swimming, I could see he/she had external gills. I scooped him/her up with my hands and took her over our make-shift station. (We did not identify the sex so I will call the salamander her, though it was not confirmed) I showed her to the class and Dr. Welch. The first thing Dr. Welch did, was look at her belly to observe whether there were markings or not.

She was in the larvae stage with external gills and dark colored. The body shape was somewhat “chunky” and stout with costal groves. It was hard to check for the nasolabial groove, but I could not see one. She had four toes in the front and five toes on the hind feet. She is in the family Ambystoma, but being a larva made it a little hard to determine the species. Living in the proximity of a swamp she is most likely Ambystoma opacum or more commonly, a Marbled salamander. This species has a complex life cycle, living in the water until after metamorphosis, the tail fin transforms into a more rounded tail and the external gills will be lost.  When in the juvenile/adult stage, they are fossorial, spending most of their lives underground or burrowing under logs. They will return to water after early spring or fall and winter rains for breeding. They demonstrate courtship and the female will deposit the eggs.