Salamanders

on 12 May 2009

The Appalachian Mountains are home to many salamander species. Most spend part of their life on land and retreat to shallow pools to lay eggs in the spring. I've seen several that are highlighted on the previous website but my favorite is probably the red-spotted newt (Notophthalmus viridescens viridescens) These guys are found in New York State as well. I've seen them around Groton too. One that I'm really trying to spot is the giant Hellbender (Cryptobranchus alleganiensis). These fully-aquatic beasts can grow up to 2 feet in length. They're sort of gross looking though, don't you think? I'd love to hear about salamanders that people have seen around Groton.

24 comments:

Paul Wiech said...

I'm in for liking the red newt which I see all the time while hiking in Treman Park!

Anonymous said...

that pic looks ewwwwwww thats what i think about that pic i would not tuch that at all thinking of you. HAVE FUN

Anonymous said...

WOW that pic is cool! I would want to come across one by the way it is jacob howell from mrds enrichment. stay heathy oh and tell me if poison or not ok peace out

Anonymous said...

hi mr.devoe its ms.k.'s class we ha some crazy stories.once chris had a salemander about 2" long come up and munch on his sandwich!!!!when garett was little his mom went out on the back porch in the middle of the night and she saw a sallamander and thouht it was one of his toys and picked it up. from ms. k's class. ps the hellbender looks like nate.

Anonymous said...

I have seen and played with salamanders that are black with yellow spots, and even some red ones with yellow bellies, I love looking for salamanders!!! I have seen a couple of the Giant Hellbenders up in Truxton though!! They are really fun to hold and play with, very calm most of the time.
~crissy

Anonymous said...

hi mr.devoe it's ms.k's class again.nate saw his dog's poo and saw a sallamander in it.nate said"i wonder if it crawled in or if tank ate it."that is one weird dog!

Anonymous said...

Hello from Mrs. Kopp's class. We're in library right now. Several people in our class think they have been lucky enough to see a hellbender or know someone who has. Many others in our class have seen red spotted newts.

We read about hellbenders on one of our databases and learned that you should not touch one if you see one. They have a dangerous, nasty bite but they are not poisonous. They might bite if you take them out of the water where they like to be. We think they look pretty scary and slimy!

Are there other salamanders that you've seen? Ms. Prentiss says that a lot of salamanders are in danger of extinction. Is that true? We didn't find that out on the databases.

Anonymous said...

Sup Mr.DeVoe?! It's Emily H. from Mr.D's class!! How's it going???!!! I CAN NOT believe that you saw a salamander that big!! It's huge!!! And OMG you held it!!!!!!! WIcked!! You Rock!!! Good luck on the rest of the trip!!

Emily H.

Anonymous said...

Hey!!! Nikiah here! Salamanders are sooo cool! Some people think that because I'm a girl, I don't like salmanders. They think they are too slimey for girls. They are totally not. They are so awesome!

Anonymous said...

hey mr.devoe,

This is Taryn from Mr.d's class. That salimander is sssooooo gross. If i saw one, i would scream like someone was going to kill me.
i would rather see a pony that a salimander.

Anonymous said...

Hi how are you doing? Where the salamanders slimy? Was it big did you hold it? How is skoob, Lucy and Kevion doing are they haveing fun.

Fom Bridgette

Anonymous said...

Hey Mr.Devoe. How is the trip so far? That salamander was awesome , but I would not want to tought it. It looks soooo weird looking. But I like it. How is Lucy? Since I do not have not enough time those poies are cool. I think that because I like ponies. I rode one before. Have fun. From Tess

Anonymous said...

You're right it is slimey but it ROCKS. I once saw a red salemander with black spots in a well. I've got a blog to (gamegurureviews.blogspot.com)and I am going to put a link here on it.

Sam

Anonymous said...

Hey Mr DeVoe I think it is so cool that you found a salimander and some pritty ponys and it is so cool that you are hiking the apulation trail. How do you know that you have reached a new state. I hope you are having a good time on the trail. See ya when you come back from the trail. good bye. sinceraly alyssa

Anonymous said...

hey mr devoe that giant hellbender or what ever its name was. It was huge! id like to go on that trail. It would be fun! GOOD LUCK!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!

Anonymous said...

Heyyyyy its emily from mr.ds s.s classthat THING is soo nasty you could put that thing on a leash!!!!!!! byeeeeeeeeee

Anonymous said...

Dear Mr DeVoe,
It is Deni again. OMG those are the BIGGEST salamanders I ever saw. You Can put that thing on a leash and walk it. The night on Thursday it looks pretty. Hows the trip?I have to go.Bye Peace
your friend
Deni

Anonymous said...

Hey mr.dovoe hows everything that salamander is huge and looks slimy.The other one looks like dry this. Is marissa from mr ds social studies class the one from science camp hope everyhtings going okay well it is but sorta not that bear but who cares well have fun on your trip.

Anonymous said...

Whats up Mr.DeVoe This is Emma R. from Mr.D's class. I am a girl so I would not touch that slimy salmander but I would love to see that! Do you want to know what I would love the most is seeing those wild ponies.I LOVE PONIES! tALK TO YOU LATER!
Sincerely,
Emma R.

Anonymous said...

Waz up! This is Colton from Mr. D's enrichment.
In science we went down to the pond and caught some tadpoles and some snails. I caught a Pollywog and salemander but it wasn't nearly that big. Well I gotta go. L8ter!

Anonymous said...

Hi Mr. DeVoe,

When we saw the hellbender some of us thought it was a mudpuppy. We did some research on google and found that they are similar but not the same. Check out the this website http://nyfalls.com/wildlife/Wildlife-reptiles-salamanders.html.

Ms. Kirby's class

Anonymous said...

hey mr.devoe,
did you really get to hold that great big salamander. I wish we could see one of those salamanders in groton.

from,Brenna

Anonymous said...

dear mr.devoe,that salamander is gross looking and coubey from victoria

Anonymous said...

OMG!!!!!!!!!!!!!!! that thing is huge i can't beleive you held that!!!!! IT isn't squirming, that's not beleiveable!!!!!!! I also love how that thing is so ugly that it's cute!!!!!!!!:)
love,
lexie

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