Winter Salamandering (page 2)
From under the log.
Slimy Salamander.
'Leadback' Salamander
The tree seemed like a perfect spot to provide shelter for amphibians; it was large and in an advanced state of decay, with large chunks of bark dislodged and on the ground underneath it. Hunkering down, we carefully scanned the leaves, and checked under the leaf litter around the tree, lifting them leaf by leaf.
A few minutes later, Rick's eyes focused on a tiny salamander curled up on the surface of a leaf. It is a neonate Slimy Salamander, Plethodon glutinosus . We marveled at how tiny it was; we have found hundreds of them of adult size, but precious few small enough to curl up on a thumbnail! After taking some photographs, we placed the tiny creature right back on the leaf.
We worked downstream a bit further without finding any more salamanders, and as it started to grow dark we turned around and headed back. Checking around the exposed root system of a large tree, I managed to find another Redback under a large leaf.
This redback differed in coloration from the norm, in that it had no red, the dorsum being a silvery grey. These Redbacks are commonly called "Leadbacks" and make up a small portion of the Redback population here.
The afternoon was getting on; the light was fading fast, and it was time for us to climb out of the ravine while we still had light to see by. It had felt good to get out in the field during a time of year when it normally isn't possible to find any herps, and actually see a few!
