balawu's Identifications

Pic is taken from another obs from same location this season, to show the location and the duff at the location (ignore the mushroom that had been there earlier). I always figured the pine needle duff was too pointy for salamander skin. But on the deer trail along the top of the hill, I accidentally dislodged a well-seated small rock and found a salamander wriggling underneath! It had a light stripe down the back, but I could not grasp it nor make out the color in the shadow of the hole, before it vanished down its side tunnel. Under the dry top layer of duff (shown in photo) there was a soft moist layer of older material.

I checked a couple of similar stones down the hill and only found an earthworm (small kind that a salamander might eat).