A small Spring Salamander, with the body proportions that make me think this is a recently metamorphosed juvenile. Found in a creekside clay depression beneath a flat stone. After photographing it for several minutes it scrambled into the water where I took these underwater shots.
Late summer/early autumn Spring Salamander found creekside.
Spring Salamanders have remained active into the autumn this year. This was found at creekside, entirely out of the water beneath a flat stone.
Spring salamander found under rocky cover adjacent to stream.
Spring salamander larva found under rocky cover in stream.
Larva found dead under rock in stream; crushed by someone either stepping on rock or carelessly flipping cover in the stream.
One specimen found under rock in shallow pool along stream in forest at 1900 feet elevation.
The Spring Salamander (Gyrinophilus porphyriticus) is a species of salamander in the Plethodontidae family. It is found in Canada and the United States. Its natural habitats are temperate forests, rivers, swamps, freshwater marshes, freshwater springs, inland karsts, and caves. It is threatened by habitat loss.
