Last week was salamander time here in Central Ohio. Megan and I looked for these really cool creatures at Gahanna Woods State Nature Preserve and on a friend's private property in Portage Ohio County in northeast Ohio. Here are a few pictures from those outings!
First, here is a male spring peeper belting out his peeps at Gahanna woods. There were thousands of these little guys calling and the sound was truly deafening.
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Exciting times. Spotted salamanders live in the ground the entire year, that is, until the first warm spring rains. They move to the surface and travel instinctually to temporary rain-filled ponds. Here, the male provides some sperm to the female via a little packet he leaves in the pond called a spermataphore. The eggs hatch into larvae that are aquatic and breathe using gills. Cool Stuff! All this, only one week ago!
Tom
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