Mole Salamander
Ambystoma talpoideum

Jasper Co., South Carolina. March 13, 1999.
 

We were heading inland on some incredibly busy two-lane road when someone spotted a piece of plywood laying next to a ditch, and after some jinking around through heavy traffic, we managed to turn around and pull over. Tracey and Ken checked it out and found a talpoideum and an opacum (Marbled Salamander) there, practically in someone's front yard.  You just never know.

The Mole Salamander is one of the lunged salamanders that burrows under the earth and disappears during the warm, dry months.