6 Facts everyone should know about Spring Salamanders

Type: Interesting

Description:
Large stout brightly colored Spring Salamanders are always a fascinating find. The scientific name: Gyrinophilus porphyriticus comes from Greek. The Gyrino root means tadpole and philus means loving...so this is a tadpole loving salamander! It actually refers to it very long time in the larval stage. Porphyriticus is a word that means a redish-pink or brownish color. Spring salamanders preferred habitat is very clear cool well-oxygenated water and often in springs and caves hence the name. The spring salamander has a wide range found across and beyond the spine of the Appalachians and into Canada but the are not found everywhere in that range. They occur in pockets in first order streams and cool clear flowing springs. They are limited to this specialized habitat. In addition to the normal salamander fare of stream and leaf litter invertebrates, Spring Salamanders will eat other smaller salamanders including their own species. In some places, Spring Salamanders have been found to eat almost excusively salamanders. Stout build, habitat, color and a sharply keeled tail are good identifiers for Spring Salamanders. These salamanders have one of the longest juvenile or larva periods of all salamanders. They may stay in larval stage for between 3 to 6 years. My channel is all about teaching about the environment and nature outdoors. I seek to engage viewers in exploring outdoors, hands-on and discovering living things, right outside your door. Natural history and many principles and concepts of biology are weaved into my presenations.

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Video length: 07:27