Streamside Salamander

This spring I’ve been following a local type of salamander called a streamside salamander (Ambystoma barbouri). They are not the most brilliantly colored amphibians out there, but many of the streams they call home are beautiful and clear.

Adult Streamside Salamander Underwater

Streamside salamanders typically lay their eggs on the bottom of flat pieces of limestone in clean, fishless sections of stream.

Streamside Salamander Larvae Well-Developed in Eggs

Right now many of our small streams are filled with newly hatched streamside salamander larvae. They look something like frog tadpoles, but unlike tadpoles, streamside larvae develop front legs first.

Streamside Salamander Larva

Posted in: Ambystoma,amphibian,barbouri,salamander,stream,streamside