A muddy day, muddy shoes, and rusty mud salamanders

As have the ranges of several other amphibians in Florida, the range of the rusty mud salamander, Pseudotriton montanus floridanus, seems to have shrunk noticeably.

Once found as far south as the Orlando area, those populations as well as others on the peninsula now seem extirpated. Although I may be overlooking some populations, to be even reasonably assured of finding this southernmost of the mud salamanders one must now travel northwestward to the panhandle counties.

Jake Scott and I recently did just that. We sought and found a suitable locale that was about four hours distant. Almost as soon as we entered the swampy habitat, we walked by a big log. Thinking it was simply too large to roll, we continued along.

We turned logs and debris for the next three hours -- zilch on the target salamanders. On the way back out, the last log we saw was that one we hadn't turned on the way in. We decided it was going to be turned, and it actually was a simple matter to do so (proving that appearances can indeed be deceiving).

Jake had found a lifer. Although it was the only mud salamander found on that day, it alone made the lengthy trip a success.

More photos under the jump...

The rusty mud salamander is one of the prettiest and most secretive of the plethodontid salamanders: A larval rusty mud salamander:

Author, photographer, and columnist Richard Bartlett is one of the most prolific writers on herpetological subjects in the 20th century. With hundreds of books and articles to their credit, Richard and his wife Pat have spent over four decades documenting reptiles both in the field and in captivity. For a list of their current titles, please visit their page in our bookstore.