Newt and Salamander larva ID guide?

[Nathan050793]

I was just wondering if there are any identification guides for newt and salamander larva? I just recently needed help with identifying a larval salamander, and it was difficult to find an answer. Also I have noticed how hard it is to distinguish species, since many larva only start looking like the adults near the time they morph. Even then, some juveniles look different than the adults.Maybe a larva ID would be a good idea, yes? no?

 

[Kaysie]

Some guides have larval ID in them. I think Conant and Collins' has some larval characteristics in it.

 

[Nathan050793]

Thanks . I was aware that some guides offer a larval picture, but was more interested in whether or not there was a guide devoted to the larval forms of newts and salamanders.

 

[Jake]

A lot of newly hatched newt larvae look nearly identical.

Do you have some that you aren't sure what they are?

 

[onetwentysix]

Petranka's also has a good key in it for larval and adult salamanders; assuming you can get a good look at the animal, you should be able to get close with a key using morphological characteristics.

At the very least, you should be able to identify the genus based on body shape, size, time of year, and habitat when compared to the animals in your area with a bit of practice, time, and google images.

 

[Nathan050793]

A lot of newly hatched newt larvae look nearly identical.

Do you have some that you aren't sure what they are?

I have a mature larval salamander that I found in a spring the other day and I had trouble deciding what species it was. I have found E.bislineata, E.longicauda, D.fuscus, and G.porphyriticus all in or around the spring, so it was a tough call. I posted about it and the reply I got suggests that it is probably E.bislineata, which was what I had been thinking. The larva ID guide was just an afterthought.

Edit: I know it is not D.fuscus and I am pretty sure it is not G.porphyriticus. E.bislineata seems about right, however my copy of Hunter, Calhoun, and McCollough's Maine Amphibians and Reptiles states that the larva have "small, lightly pigmented gills". Mine has noticeable, dark red gills.