Reptile & Amphibian Forums

found in a small stream..not a branch but a little larger...too small for fish...but good sized...Western North Carolina...found today. I am having trouble indentifying it...any ideas?

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Michael Enriquez

Looks like a spring salamander larva, but I'm not 100% sure on that.

could be porphyriticus. i have herped western NC and have never seen so many salamanders in my life. highest concentration of salamnders in the world if i am not mistaken. those desmogs can be heck to ID.
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2 tham radix
1 Chicago Tham s. semifasciatus
2 elaphe vulpina
1 gray tiger sallie
4 Aphonopelma hentzi
2 G rosea
1 Haplo minax

Sorry I cannot help you here. Can you tell me how to post a photo? Yours is great.

looks like a barton springs salamander, but you said you found it in a stream. there's also a relative of the barton springs salamander that lives in a river but i have no idea what it looks like. it also kinda looks like a mudpuppy. how deep was the stream and how fast was it going?

It's a Dwarf Water Dog Necturus punctatus (four legs and gills)
Your photo of the Hellbender must have been taken
further to the W. and up in the cooler mountains.
The water dog is found a little further to the east and coastline.
Looking at the range maps it doesn't look like they overlap. Maps have been know to be wrong.

The Siren and Greater Siren do not have rear legs but have external gills.
The Amphiuma has four "legs" but no external gills.
The Water Dogs and Mud Puppys have four legs and external gills.

Can you tell me what month you found the Hellbender?

ebnagel@hotmail.com