Georgia

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Noah M
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Georgia

Post by Noah M »

My wife and I were in northern GA for a bit and I took a few hours to flip some logs. I feel comfortable IDing most things (photos forthcoming) but I wasn't sure on these guys. I found 2 individuals, both about the same size ~2" and same coloration. The overall shape suggests Ambystoma spp. They were found under logs within sight of a creek.

There are 5 species of Ambystoma in GA, and I doubt they're Flatwoods, so that leaves Spotted, Marbled, Tiger or Mole. What do you guys think? A trusted friend from a cell phone pic said A. opacum, and I'm inclined to believe him.

Two pics of #1

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Pics of #2
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Berkeley Boone
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Re: Ambystoma spp?

Post by Berkeley Boone »

I agree with Marbled. Especially if you were in N Georgia. What was the habitat like?

You should have hit me up! What part of GA were you in?

--Berkeley
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Noah M
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Re: Georgia

Post by Noah M »

Aside from finding the young marbles seen above, I spent Sunday morning walking some streams and a river in Georiga. Here is what I found.

The habitat was much rockier than I was used to in Florida, but the streams were clear flowing and looked to be a good spot for some 'manders. They did not disappoint. In a few areas every other rock produced something. One of the first rocks flipped gave me this guy. I'm thinking it is a Spotted Dusky Salamander (Desmognathus conanti) (lifer). They dominated the area, as I found over half a dozen more in just a few hours. While looking in this stretch of the river a gorgeous southern two-lined salamander escaped into some silty water to never be seen again.

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Right along the trail was this large tree stump looking thing. I flipped it and found this large Northern Slimy Salamander (Plethodon glutinosus) (lifer...in a sense. I've seen the SE species before)

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Out in the river were several river cooters basking in the sun.
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Back closer to the stream under a log was this little ringer, looking ready to shed.
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There was a trickle of a stream coming down the hillside and I checked about 10ft of it and found this baby Northern Water Snake (Nerodia sipedon). I moved him to a dry log for a photo, and he thanked me by regurgitating a Southern Two-lined Salamander (Eurycea cirrigera) seen in the background. I guess he's better at catching them than me!
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Hiking along a trail up the hillside there was this Skink basking. Since Five-lined, SE five-lined and Broadheads are all found in this area, I have no clue as to which species this one is.

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Being away from the river now allowed me to check out a different stretch of the stream. Here is where I found the most Desmogs. Most looked like this under rocks.
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Sometimes they will cooperate for you.
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And other times they're just keep marching on.
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This one had a really nice pattern, but it would not sit still.
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Nearing the end of the trail, I flipped one last set of logs and found another Northern Slimy.
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Tamara D. McConnell
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Re: Georgia

Post by Tamara D. McConnell »

I like your photos a lot. Very well done!
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Noah M
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Re: Georgia

Post by Noah M »

Tamara D. McConnell wrote:I like your photos a lot. Very well done!
Thank you. I've been trying really hard to get better at them. Salamanders are still a tough subject for me though. They always seem to be dirty, on the move, or both :lol:
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