Seeing a rainy day on the forecast, I made sure to get out early and returned to the fields from the other day. With a goal of finding adult arboreal salamanders, I passed over many of the early slender salamanders. However, I couldn’t help but take a picture of this one as it is for sure the smallest I have ever seen. Most likely a juvenile.

Returning to where I found the juvenile arboreals, I searched for logs and rocks I had previously left unturned. Immediately I found a thick slab. It was a battle to lift, but the reward was great.

Their bodies remind me of mole salamanders. They are also said to have teeth, but I didn’t want to harass it enough to find out. It’s body colors are very different than that of their juveniles. My hand for scale as this was a very big salamander.

As I continued my hike to the location of my boards. I found the residents of two rodent families sheltering from the rain under the boards which is a good sign for the next snake season. I also uncovered a number of boards I had never seen before.

The last one I checked had an arboreal and slender salamander under it.

For scale.

Comparing the juvenile to the adult.

Obviously, we see the size difference both in the length of the two and in the thickness of their bodies. The transition of color is the most fascinating in my opinion. The juvenile has a dark black body with creamy blueish white spots while the adult has a fleshy dark pink body with yellow spots.