Monday, June 15, 2015

Monday Limestone Salamander Blogging

Limestone Salamander - Sierra Nevada  2015

A rare Limestone Salamander seen on the Hite's Cove trail.

"The limestone salamander (Hydromantes brunus) is a member of the lungless salamander family, Plethodontidae, found in a portion of the Merced River Canyon in Mariposa County, California.

The total population of this rare species is estimated at less than 2000 individuals."

- Wikipedia

However, hiking on the trail one would not have suspected that these creatures were all that particularly rare. Mike had to be constantly on the alert in order to avoid stepping on them; they were obviously using the trail for their own purposes.

2 comments:

Vincent Goetz said...

Try the trail that follows the old railroad bed from Bryceburg east on the north side of the Merced River. Lots of these guys....

Mike Mundy said...

Hey thanks!

I was surprised at how attentive I had to be in placing my feet.