Reptile & Amphibian Forums

Earlier in the week it began to get warmer and the snow around the amphibian breeding pools began to melt.

Eventually the daytime temperatures hit the upper sixties and today, although cooler, it began to rain.
There were many amphibian fans out to see the annual migration.

Spring Peepers could be heard calling off in the distance, though a few, like this one, were crossing the road.
Most Spring Peepers have an "X" mark on their back - this one was a variation on that theme.

The clucking of Wood Frogs could also be heard if you listened closely.
The few that were crossing the street had exceptional coloration.

The Jefferson's is the less common of the two salamanders in the area, it was a welcome find.
This individual had quite a bit of blue flecking.

The temperatures were in the low 40s, but with steady rain coming down, it was an irresistable lure to Spotted Salamanders.

What a great way to kick off the 2010 herping season!

Third Eye

Jefferson looks like a smallmouth to me. That's a gang of herpers if I ever did see one. Looks like a fun night. Thanks for posting. Cool habitat shots too.
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2 tham radix
1 Chicago Tham s. semifasciatus
2 elaphe vulpina
1 gray tiger salamander
4 Aphonopelma hentzi
1 G rosea
1 Haplo minax
1 Brachy angustum
1 Brachy sabulosum
1 Brachy vagans
1 Cent. hentzi scorp

A former Professor of Biology at a major U.S. college told me the same thing about that salamander looking like a Smallmouth. I admit it's shape is odd, but according to Harding's "Amphibians and Reptiles of the Great Lakes Region" the way to differentiate Smallmouths from Jefferson's is that Smallmouths do not have flecking on their sides.

Conant uses toe length to ID Jefferson's, but it's unclear from the pics if the back toes are long.

It would be cool if it's a Smallmouth, as I've never seen one before.

Tim

I know what you mean when it comes to the peppered pattern and faint markings. Most smallmouthes have them though. I gave up on trying to make sense of the Jefferson's /blue-spotted field markings in the guides because they are not reliable. Jefferson's and spotted salamanders often frequent the same breeding pools. I would say add a third, A. texanum, to the list as well
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2 tham radix
1 Chicago Tham s. semifasciatus
2 elaphe vulpina
1 gray tiger salamander
4 Aphonopelma hentzi
1 G rosea
1 Haplo minax
1 Brachy angustum
1 Brachy sabulosum
1 Brachy vagans
1 Cent. hentzi scorp