Mudpuppy larvae

[brian]

I finally managed to get fairly good images of my mudpuppy larvae, so here they are:

A lot of them may look, the same, but I posted them all in case some were clearer than others

 

[TJ]

Nice, Brian

I've never seen pics of mudpuppy larvae before. I hope you'll continue to post pics of them as they develop (and please try to get a little closer to the subject while you're at it

)

 

[brian]

Well, if I get too close they come out blurry, that's the closest I could get

 

[peter]

Thanks, Brian! Those are so awesome! =)

 

[paris]

how many eggs did you start with and how many larvae hatched??-how old are those pictured?

 

[jenny]

do axolotl larves look like mudpuppy ones cos i didnt think they did and i want my axy to have babies but those mud pupi larvae scare me lol

 

[brian]

I have ten larvae right now, out of probably fifteen eggs that I managed to get off a rock. I think there might have been about fifty eggs in total. The one's pictured are around six weeks old, but I don't remember the exact date that they hatched. I don't really know what axolotl larvae look like but they are more popular than mudpuppies and I'm sure you could find pictures of them really easily

 

[jenny]

hoe come axolotls r more popular? is it cos pupis r rare? or bcos not many ppl want them. r they quite agressive?

 

[john]

Jenny: Mudpuppies are a specialist species - they are very secretive and quite aggressive. They also require a flowing water setup and are sensitive to warm temperatures. And finally, they are quite a challenge to breed in captivity.

Axolotls are just lazy , not secretive, live in still water, are easy to breed, are rarely aggressive (except when young) and are bred regularly by laboratories so there is never a shortage.

Brian - thanks for sharing the photos - can you get any closer? I think Jen Macke would die for a close-up to put on Caudata Culture

. If you can't get any more magnification from the camera itself, try getting hold of a magnifying glass and putting it in between the camera and the subject. Sounds cookie but try it - it does work and can give surprisingly good results, especially with a decent magnifying glass.

 

[brian]

Sorry, but I have gotten a second opinion on the identification of the larvae, and they may be a species of eurycea. I will still try to keep updating the pictures as they develop though

 

[nate]

Hi all. Brian, Tim, Peter, and I have already discussed this, but just wanted to post it here for anyone who might read it in the future. The larvae seen here are not mudpuppies, but appear to be 2-lined salamanders}, Eurycea bislineata.