What is it Wednesday: April 15, 2020

Can you identify what's in this photo?

Each Wednesday morning 

on Camp Lutherlyn's Facebook page

 the Lutherlyn Environmental Education Program posts a photo. 

Readers have all morning and afternoon 

to make their best guess about what the photo is. 

Around 6 pm LEEP provides the answer and a brief explanation.

Each week's What is it Wednesday post 

will also be posted on the Nature of Lutherlyn blog, 

 after it is posted on Facebook,

sometimes with additional bonus information. 

In addition to bringing you current editions of What is it Wednesday 

on the Nature of Lutherlyn blog, 

we will be reposting old editions,

creating a What is it Wednesday archive. 

This photo was posted as a What is it Wednesday on

April 15, 2020. 

And the answer is....

This is a northern spring salamander, found along the Chapel Rock trail near Shawnee Run last week. 

Spring salamanders are part of the family of lungless salamanders, which take in oxygen through their skin. Because of this, they require a habitat with cold, unpolluted water with a lot of oxygen. They love hanging out in and near springs, seeps, and flowing streams – which perfectly describes the area where this salamander was found. 

This salamander appeared to be injured – it was sitting in the middle of the sunny trail, had blood in its mouth, and you can just see in the photo a raw patch of skin on the back of its head. I suspect some critter – maybe a garter snake – tried to eat it and changed its mind. Like many amphibians, spring salamanders release toxic secretions from their skin that deter predators. It may be hard to tell because of how it is positioned in this picture, but this salamander was big enough to require two hands when I carried it in some leaves to a safer and shadier spot near the stream.

We don’t see spring salamanders often at Lutherlyn, maybe because they are mostly nocturnal, but we usually come across one or two a year. Based on its size and color this salamander was probably an “elder” - older spring salamanders have a darker color and fewer mottled markings than younger ones. They can live up to 18 years and spend 3-4 years as a juvenile in the water! I hope it survived whatever caused its injury that day.

Like and follow Camp Lutherlyn on Facebook, to see What is it Wednesday posts when they come out and have the opportunity to share your guesses in the comments!