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Salamanders of Tennessee

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Salamanders of Tennessee Salamanders of Tennessee Spotted salamander Ambystoma maculatum •11.2-19.7 cm (4.375 - 7.75 in.) •Up to 50 round, yellow or orange spots arranged in two irregular rows along the sides of back from the eyes to tail tip •Dorsal ground color: black, bluish black, or dark brown •Belly color: slate-gray •Young sometimes dark brown dorsal ground color 1 Marbled salamander Ambystoma opacum •9-10.7cm (3.5 - 4.25 in.) •Ground color is black •Light crossband markings are variable- incomplete, run together or enclosing dark spots. •Markings are gray in females (below) •Markings are white in males (left) •Belly is plain black •Rarely is light stripe along mid- dorsal line •Newly transformed young have scattered light flecks on top of brown to black ground dorsal color Hellbender Cryptobranchus alleganiensis •29.2-51cm (11.5- 20 in.) BIG!! •Usually gray but varies from yellow-brown •“ a huge grotesque, thoroughly aquatic to almost black salamander” •Scattered irregular dark or light spots may •Metamorphosis is incomplete- adults lack be seen eyelids and retain one set of gill slits •Young have many irregular dark spots on top of light ground color •Flat head, sides of body have a wrinkled fold of skin. Green salamander Aneides aeneus • 8.3-12.5 cm ( 3.25 - 5 in.) • Green lichen-like markings • Dark ground color • Square-tipped toes 2 Northern dusky salamander Desmognathus fuscus fuscus •Easily confused with spotted dusky salamander •6.4-11.5cm (2.5- 4.5 in.) •Keeled tail (knife- like) is less than 1/2 total length •General coloration gray or brown, markings not much darker • young may have pairs of yellow •Pattern changes with age dorsal and tail spots bordered in black and connected by a dark wavy band •Pattern breaks up with age •Base of tail lighter(olive/yellow) than rest of dorsum and bordered by dark scallops •Ventral variable-usually lightly mottled gray or brown Southern two-lined salamander Eurycea cirrigera •6.4-9.5 cm (2.5 - 3.75 in) •Similar to Northern two-lined salamander but has 14 costal grooves not 15 or 16 •Yellow (typically) ground color with two dark lines bordering a light mid- dorsal stripe •Ground color can be greenish, brownish, bronzy or almost orange •Dark lines tend to break up into dots or dashes on tail •Mid-dorsal stripe speckled with small black spots that may occasionally join to form a narrow median line •Some males have well- developed cirri (projections) downward from nostrils Long-tailed salamander Eurycea longicauda •10-15.9 cm (4 - 6 1/4 in.) •Yellowish salamander with vertical black markings on long tail. •Ground color varies from yellow to orangey red to red. •Shape of markings can vary a bit •Young are yellow with a relatively short tail 3 Cave salamander Eurycea lucifuga •10-15.2 cm (4-6 in.) •Adults tend to be more reddish with spots •Reddish ground color variable from yellow •Spots are black and irregularly shaped- cover most of body to orange to bright orange-red. •Long tail in adults, young have shorter tail •Young tend to be yellow, with generally no spots •Belly is yellow-orange Eastern zigzag salamander Plethodon dorsalis dorsalis •6.4-9 cm ( 2.5 -3.5 in.) • Zigzag to wavy, light dorsal stripe •Dorsal stripe varies form red to yellowish •Dorsal stripe broadly continued on the tail •Belly mottled orange-reddish pigment White-spotted slimy salamander Plethodon cylindraceus •10-12.5 cm (4-5 in) •Part of slimy salamander group almost indistinguishable in the field. •Gets its name from sticky secretions it emits through its skin glands when handled roughly or threatened •Black dorsum with irregularly scattered white spots •Very rubust, round tail to suspend themselves and wave their legs in courtship ritual •Lighter belly 4 Northern red salamander Pseudotriton ruber ruber •10-15.2 cm (4 -6 in.) •Red or reddish orange ground color •Upper surfaces profusely dotted with irregular, black spots •Iris of eye normally yellow •Older adults have dull and purplish brown ground color and spots are larger and run together (left) Eastern red-spotted newt Notophthalmus viridescens •5.7-12.2 cm (2.25 - 4.75 in.) •Aquatic adults are vary from yellowish brown to dark greenish brown but spots •Up to 21 red spots, variable in number and remain the same position •Recently transformed adults may be •Terrestrial efts have bright orange-red color yellowish brown to dull reddish brown (bright color serves as warning for toxic skin) Salamander Identification Websites • USGS Checklist of Amphibian Species and Identification Guide http://www.npwrc.usgs.gov/narcam/idguide/ •TWRA Salamanders of Tennessee http://www.state.tn.us/twra/salamanders.htm 5.
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