(light music)
- It's a slightly overcast day here in Kentucky,
which is the perfect conditions
if you're searching for salamanders.
In the United States, there are 186 different species.
And the good news for us is that here in the southeast,
102 of those salamanders can be found.
So what we're gonna do is as a team,
flip multiple rocks and see how many
of these slimy amphibians we can come across.
We're gonna search all along this cliff base, with any luck,
this is gonna be one successful salamander scavenger hunt.
All right, guys, let's start flipping.
Oh, got a salamander, guys.
(film reeling)
(upbeat music)
(animal roars)
Wow, look at that.
That is the long tailed-salamander right there.
Now the easiest way to identify this species
is the length of the tail,
hence the name long-tailed salamander.
They're also orange in coloration
with all this black speckling.
And what's cool is these are closely related
to the cave salamanders that we have featured before.
Now with each salamander that we come across today,
we're gonna try to get a really cool macro B-roll shot.
You can't truly appreciate the beauty
and magnificence of a salamander
unless you can be right there next to it.
What's cool is that this is a lungless salamander species,
which means it's absorbing all of its oxygen
through its skin.
I like all salamander species,
the long-tailed is a voracious predator.
They will eat pretty much anything that they come across.
It fits in that mouth, it is fair game.
Okay, that's our first salamander of the day.
and it's very important to place the amphibians
right back where you found them.
Away you go.
All right, let's see if we can find some more salamanders.
(upbeat music)
Look at this, look at this, look at this.
It's a fissure of salamander.
- [Mario] Oh man, that's a salamander.
- That's salamander?
- [Mario] Pretty sure.
Just make sure it doesn't go into borough.
- Yeah, yeah, yeah. Hold on a second.
If I could get my hand down underneath here.
Yes, yes, that's a red salamander.
- [Mario] No, it's a mud, that's a mud.
- [Tim] Grab him, don't let him go.
- [Mario] Yeah, that's a nice one.
- Oh, got him, got him.
Oh, that's a rare one?
- [Mario] That's what a lot of people would love to see.
- Wow, Look at that!
A mud salamander.
Very robust body.
I thought it was a red salamander just with seeing the tail.
Whoa, that is good size too.
Like the name suggests, they will bury down
in the mud very, very quickly.
This is a fossorial species.
They love staying in that moist muddy environment
and not one that is really easy to come across.
Now, one way to tell the difference
between a mud salamander and red salamander
is that the red salamander has a goldish eye
while the mud salamander has a muddy brown eye.
What's cool about the mud salamander
is it has a very robust body structure.
They do get a little bit bigger than this,
but this would be considered a full-sized adult.
Okay, our second salamander
is officially caught and recorded.
Let's keep searching.
We're doing pretty good so far.
We're moving away from that rock base,
moving deeper into a forested area
where Tim says we will find some of our next species.
This pine forest, despite looking dry,
actually retains quite a bit of moisture.
So any logs or rocks that are flat to the ground,
like this one here, may have salamanders under them.
I see worms. That's a really good sign.
Where are you find worms,
you're likely to find the salamanders.
I just heard Tim call off in the distance.
He's got another salamander.
This will be our third one of the day.
Oh, look at that.
Yes!
Is that a slimy salamander?
- It is. - Wow!
Good find, Tim.
I got him.
Whoa, whoa, he's quick.
That, whoa, stay, is a slimy salamander.
Now they're called slimy salamanders
because as soon as they feel
as if a predator is threatening their existence,
they will secrete a very sticky slime,
so much so that it will gum up the mouth of anything
that is trying to eat it,
in some instances, will even choke and kill its attacker.
Easy to identify given it's speckled patterning.
Whoa, it is fast!
And it bounced onto there.
Actually, Tim, get out
that little lock container real quick.
Let's see if we can get this guy to calm down.
Trying to just run up and in to my jacket here.
I see you're trying to stay hidden.
Oh yeah, I can already feel that it is super sticky.
Wow! All right, let's get it moist here.
Here you go, buddy. Whoa, that is cool.
Look at how fast it's capable of moving.
Now, whenever handling any salamander species,
it's important to carry a small little plastic container
with you with a small amount of water.
What you don't wanna do is drive the salamander out.
Remember, amphibians secrete a mucus from their skin
to keep themselves moist,
and the less of that moisture you can suck
into your own skin, the better it is for the creature.
And we're actually getting the B-roll shot.
We wanna be as still as we possibly can.
No sudden movements.
Salamanders bodies are incredibly durable.
And many of the salamander species
in this area are capable of actually dropping their tails,
just like a lizard,
so we have to be very careful when we handle them.
You never wanna pick up a salamander by its tail.
Now the slimy salamander is one
of the most common salamander species here
in the Southeastern United States.
People often miss identify them for spotted salamanders.
Both species are black,
but the spotted is more robust
and has very distinct, large yellow spots.
These spots are more sparsely spread
throughout the salamander's body
and you can see they're almost whitish gold in coloration.
Okay, we're gonna place the salamander right back
under the log where we found it,
but good salamander etiquette is
to always place the log back exactly the way you found it.
What you don't wanna do
is accidentally squish the salamander.
So getting it right back into its spot, like that,
then the salamander can scurry back up underneath
and it will be totally safe without being squished.
There you go, little guy.
There you have it,
the slimy salamander our third of the day.
Okay, so we've made our way down this ravine
and we have found some pristine creek salamander habitat.
Look at this.
All of that running water
and all those rocks are super flippable.
Whoo!
Just when I thought we had run out of places search,
we find this environment.
This is super perfect.
All right, Tim flipped another salamander.
I guess it's a two-lined.
- I got a little guy. - Oh, a tiny one.
Still counts, that's a new species.
Oh, it's got a little nub tail.
There's a perfect example of a salamander that lost its tail
and is starting to regrow a new one.
It is definitely one of the more common
stream salamander species.
Beautiful, the way to easily identify them is the two lines
that run down the length of the body.
And they usually spill all the way out onto the tail,
but this guy doesn't have a tail.
That is our fourth species right there.
And these salamanders specialize
in eating small worms and crayfish larva.
It's definitely the smallest salamander
we've come across today,
arguably, the most common as well.
If you're out flipping rocks in a stream
in the Eastern United States there's a good chance
you're gonna flip up a two-lined salamander.
Salamander, right here.
Tim, got a salamander!
(dramatic music)
I don't know what it is, it's all black.
Blackish gray?
- From the looks of it and the speckling on the side,
it looks like a northern dusky salamander.
Careful, they're real fast. - Okay. All right, cool.
All right, Mario wanna get out
the B-roll camera? - Yup.
- Actually, this little ledge right here
might make the perfect spot to get those B-roll moments.
All right, how about that?
Our fifth salamander of the day, the northern dusky.
Now this salamander species has an incredible sense of smell
and like all the plethodont species,
they have these nasal grooves just behind the nostrils
called nasal labial grooves, incredible sense of smell.
These are slightly nomadic predators, very opportunistic,
but this is a salamander species
that will actually feast upon smaller salamanders.
Very sharp teeth, not something you wanna run into,
but a creature of this size is definitely way too small
to bite a human.
How's the shots looking? - Good.
- Pretty good? - Uh-huh.
- Well, There you have it,
our fifth salamander species of the day.
All right, let's place this one back on its rock
and keep on moving.
Okay, we are not moving out of the creek environment
up this rather steep hill
where we'll try to find our next spot.
Although, it does look like the sun is fully overhead.
Not real sure that the conditions are gonna continue
to be in our favor.
Those logs look good. Let's see.
Eenie, meenie, miney, mo.
Catch a tiger by its toe.
If it hollers, let it go.
Eenie, meenie, miney, mo.
All right, we'll go for this one first.
Here we go.
Could this be our sixth salamander of the day?
(suspenseful music)
(speaking faintly)
Right here, salamander!
Oh, Mario, Mario, Mario!
What'd you got? - Red salamander.
- Are you sure? - Yep.
Come on, buddy. Look at that.
Wow!
Very similar looking to the mud salamander,
but many more spots
and it actually has a gold iris within its eye.
That's one of the easiest ways to tell this species
from the mud salamander.
Oh, that is a big one, very robust body structure.
And what's unique about this salamander
is it also has a very short tail
as compared to the mud salamander.
This salamander is not nearly
as vibrant as the mud salamander,
and the spotting pattern
that runs over the length of the body is much more dense.
Well, the sun's directly overhead,
the temperatures are beginning to climb,
which means our odds of finding salamanders
are not nearly as good as they were this morning.
But I say we did pretty good.
Several species in just a few hours.
So hopefully you guys enjoyed
this salamander scavenger hunt.
I'm Coyote Peterson.
Be brave, stay wild.
We'll see you on the next adventure.
Hey, Coyote Pack,
if you enjoyed this salamander scavenger hunt,
write in the comments section below
and tell us your favorite species of the day was.
Here's a quick recap.
Long-tailed salamander, mud salamander, slimy salamander,
two-lined salamander, dusky salamander, red salamander.
(birds chirping)
(wolf howling)