What species of salamander larvae are these? And, how do I keep them when they mature

[Frisian]

Any ideas what species of salamander these are? Montague, Michigan, USA. It was near heavily wooded old forest on a dune, but the wetland from which they were taken, and mostly cattail-dominated marsh, was probably not part of the dune system since water runs down a tiny sluice out it into another (now dry) wetland, but still retains water.

[Ed]

It looks to be an ambystomid larva which (if I remember correctly) means that under Michigan's laws, if it is a small mouthed (A. texanum) or Marbled (A. opacum) larva, they are illegal to collect. It looks to be too large to be a marbled larva (based on my experience with them)..

Some comments

Ed

[Frisian]

Would almost certainly say it is a type of mole salamander? Tiger Salamanders, Spotted Salamander, and Blue-spotted Salamanders appear to be in the collection area, according to Jim Harding's Amphibians and Reptiles of the Great Lakes Region. I think I was told by Harding (by email) that Tiger Salamanders are not very common in Michigan. P

The larvae appear to be just over an inch, to my observance, though I don't know how close they are to really leaving water, except that they have all 4 legs.

Harding's book also says that Ambystoma t. tigrinum has a max larval length of 2.8 inches. A. maculatum gets to 1.6 to 3 inches when the morph. A. laterale metamorphose at 2.2-3.0 inches.

I can't determine what it is from the above data!

[Frisian]

They were found out of the ranges of Ambystoma texanum and A. opacum shown in Harding's book.

[Ed]

Development of the legs isn't any indication of how close they are to leaving the water.

Your going to need to count coastal grooves to try and narrow it down. This may help https://kb.osu.edu/dspace/bitstream/...097?sequence=1 (keep in mind that it doesn't have a key for laterale) or check out Petranka's book for the details.

Ed

[Ed]

The legs aren't a good indicator of how close the larva is to metamorphosis. Your going to have to look at structures like the tail fin and count coastal grooves (which means handling the larva). This key may help A Field Guide to Amphibian Larvae and Eggs of Minnesota, Wisconsin, and Iowa
or you can also use Petranka's book and/or https://kb.osu.edu/dspace/bitstream/...097?sequence=1 (keep in mind it doesn't have a key for laterale)..

Some comments,

Ed

[Frisian]

Thanks for the links, Ed. Hard to get a good photo or count costal grooves without injuring the larvae. Suggestions?

[Ed]

Originally Posted by Frisian

Thanks for the links, Ed. Hard to get a good photo or count costal grooves without injuring the larvae. Suggestions?

To properly count the costal (corrected spelling for myself..) grooves, you really have to be able to manipulate the front and hind legs. Otherwise you can use a clear plastic tube to restain the larva. If it becomes stuck in the tube, you can gently blow it back out or flush it out with some water.

Ed

[frogface]

Originally Posted by Ed

To properly count the costal (corrected spelling for myself..) grooves, you really have to be able to manipulate the front and hind legs. Otherwise you can use a clear plastic tube to restain the larva. If it becomes stuck in the tube, you can gently blow it back out or flush it out with some water.

Ed

OMG now I have a salamander pea-shooter image in my head

[Ed]

Originally Posted by frogface

OMG now I have a salamander pea-shooter image in my head

There was a reason, I stated gently..... While I wasn't the one who invented the salamander pea-shooter, I did see a impatient person do it without thinking.....

Ed