California toads and Ensatina Salamanders

[Greatballzofire]

I do feel incredibly fortunate to have these beautiful little creatures on my property. In my opinion they are the most beautiful of all the salamander species.

Next spring I will look for the big brown ones and post some pics of them. They are much more active than the ensatinas, acting almost more like lizards. When uncovered the ensatinas just lay there like oh I hope nobody notices me, but the brown ones sort of glare at you and make haste to find new cover.

[KennyDB]

but the brown ones sort of glare at you and make haste to find new cover.

That sounds like Aneides lugubris behavior? do you mean A.lugubris?

[Greatballzofire]

That sounds like Aneides lugubris behavior? do you mean A.lugubris?

http://www.californiaherps.com/salam....lugubris.html
I think this is it. I live in the small red spot area on the map of California. I saw a group of three of these creatures under a big rock this spring. Now it is hot and dry and nary a salamander of any sort to be seen!

[KennyDB]

Haha yes, I knew it must have been A.lugubris by the "behavior" description , I got some myself, they really are fantastic and superquick!

[Greatballzofire]

Well, I am glad I didn't bother to pick them up! LOL!

[Kurt]

That looks like photo shop to me.

[Greatballzofire]

That looks like photo shop to me.

http://amphibiaweb.org/cgi/amphib_qu...ecies=lugubris

G. Territories. Arboreal salamanders are well known for their aggressive tendencies and weaponry. This species has a suite of morphological features that enable a strong, wound inflicting bite. The jaw muscles are hypertrophied, the skull is heavily ossified with especially strong jaws, and both juveniles and adults possess enlarged and flattened, blade-like, monocuspid teeth (other plethodontids possess weaker bicuspid teeth as juveniles; Wake, 1966; Wake et al., 1983). In his description of arboreal salamanders, Cope (1889) writes: “On the whole, the physiognomy is not unlike that of a snapping tortoise.” Scarred individuals are often found in the field (Miller, 1944; N.L.S., personal observation), and Myers (1930b) observed that salamanders housed in the same container bite each others’ tails. In a study of museum specimens, Staub (1993) found that 15% of the examined individuals were scarred, presumably from conspecific attacks. The frequency of scarring did not differ significantly between males and females (Staub, 1993).

I found it hard to believe that these innocuous looking little animals would have such forbidding dental equipment myself!