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.
The next Friday, March 23, we went looking for salamanders in Portage County Ohio. Here is what we found:
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
No comments:
Post a Comment