Plethodon cinereus

[meghan]

2 questions about Plethodon cinereus:
I need more information on the "lead Phase". When does that stage occur in development..after the red backed stage?
I searched here and found one picture of the eggs. I'm assuming, according to the picture, water was added for moisture. In a normal wild setting, are the eggs rather dry in appearance and in small piles? Are they solid colored as opposed to clear sacs?
I was out on family wooded property and found pile after pile of these little white-ish eggs under logs, leaves, etc. Didn't want to take any if they turned out to be insect eggs but they weren't sticky or in any kind of sticky muck.
Make it three questions, what's the rule on sexing these particular salamanders?

 

[jesse]

carefull! slug eggs tend to look like salamander eggs sometimes

 

[peter]

As for sexing, I'm unsure, but I've got a bit of experience with the eggs. Generally, they'll be found with an adult (or more). Without protection, they're eaten by other animals (or salamanders). They're fairly large (about the size of spotted salamander eggs individually) and they're more of a solid coloring. They are somewhat wet, and I believe the adults secrete something to keep them that way.

As for the leadback phase, it's not like n. viridescens and their eft stage, but more like albinism, etc, and the animal will be born like this and mature as such.

Correct me if I'm wrong, but I'm pretty sure that's what happens.

 

[peter]

Meghan, there's a good picture of similar eggs posted on the photo forum, the eggs look a lot like these:

http://www.caudata.org/forum/messages/985/17979.jpg

For a species specific picture, maybe google will find one.

 

[FlameTorch]

Ah! Oh my god I think I have slug eggs... or centipede eggs! when I found them they were like transparent little jelly balls with small white embryos about _ <---that big, and no mom...

 

[Azhael]

This is a very old thread, please refrain from bumping old posts...specially if it´s not to add anything relevant.