Some Southern Indiana Herps (mostly sals)

Zach42

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So far, this year has been my best year of herping to date. Here's some Newts from this spring. By the third week in March the vernal pools are so full of these things it isn't even funny.


Red Spotted Newt (Notophthalmus viridescens viridescens) by Zach Truelock, on Flickr


Red Spotted Newt (Notophthalmus viridescens viridescens) by Zach Truelock, on Flickr


Red Spotted Newts (Notophthalmus viridescens viridescens) mating by Zach Truelock, on Flickr

Redbacked Salamanders are numerous most of the hardwood forests in S. IN.

Eastern Red Backed Salamander (Plethodon cinereus) by Zach Truelock, on Flickr

Southern Two lined salamanders are very numerous in most creeks. I frequently find them alongside juvenile water snakes.

Southern Two Lined Salamander (Eurycea cirrigera) by Zach Truelock, on Flickr


Midland Water Snake (Nerodia sipedon pleuralis) by Zach Truelock, on Flickr


Here's a random toad from my backyard....

American Toad (Bufo americanus) by Zach Truelock, on Flickr

And my lifer spring peeper

Northern Spring Peeper (Psuedacris crucifer crucifer) by Zach Truelock, on Flickr

And what I thought was an Eastern Spadefoot tadpole..sadly it turned out to be a wood frog.

Wood Frog (Rana sylvatica) by Zach Truelock, on Flickr

Slimy Salamanders are numerous and frequently found alongside redback salamanders, this one was found beneath a log alongside 5 redbacks.

Northern Slimy Salamander (Plethodon glutinosus) by Zach Truelock, on Flickr



Longtailed Salamander (Eurycea longicauda longicauda) by Zach Truelock, on Flickr

And this was, by far, my favorite find of the year. It was a July morning and we were getting some much needed rain (first in 2 months) I went around the house and heard this lifer moving around in the leaves in a window well.

Eastern Tiger Salamander (Ambystoma tigrinum) by Zach Truelock, on Flickr


Eastern Tiger Salamander (Ambystoma tigrinum) by Zach Truelock, on Flickr
These are very rare in Central Indiana and it was quite a shock to find one in July!


This was the first eft I've found in Indiana.

Red Spotted Newt (Notopthalmus viridescens viridescens) by Zach Truelock, on Flickr

I set out to SE Indiana to look for queen snakes and Northern Dusky Salamanders this past weekend, and after hours of hiking I found 3 duskies and a larva in a small creek by the road!


Northern Dusky Salamander (Desmognathus fuscus) by Zach Truelock, on Flickr
Definitely my favorite plethodontid. Thanks for looking.
 
I love those newt shots! And the long tailed! Great post.


If you like D. fuscus, you should come to the southern Appalachians. Our duskies are wonderful.

-Brad
 
I live in Indiana and went herping with some people for class and all we found were the redbacks. but we found tons of them.
 
Awesome photos! It's like eye candy to me. :)
The pics of the A. Tigrinum are amazing, a very cool looking one.
 
Can you please tell me for sure if the Eurycea cirrigera are natural predators of Plethodon cinereus in their natural environment?
Let me know please. I have a very big setup im thinking of place both species together.
Cheers
 
Great shots of the newts in the water! Did you use a waterproof camera for the first one? Or is it just the angle that makes it look like that? Also, the tiger pics are spectacular.
 
Thanks everyone! Sorry for the super late response.

E. cirrigera and P. cinereus aren't really predator and prey assuming they are the same size, however I wouldn't think they would be good candidates for a co species tank because of different habitat preferences. Two lineds are much more aquatic and prefer to stay close to flowing water, while redbacks prefer comparatively dry wooded hillsides. Redbacks also don't swim too well so I don't think a tank for them with deep water would be a good idea.

I did use a waterproof camera for the newt shots.
 
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