An out-of-place salamander
The herps at the Stone Mountain wetland seemed cooperative that Friday morning. Within minutes of starting to search the site, Smith plucked two mountain dusky salamanders from under a piece of old cloth tarp. (âOf course [these two are] under junk instead of natural cover,â he said ironically.)
Smith said the species â which belongs to the dusky salamander genus â is extremely common. The pair draped over his palm werenât the same shade of brown: One had a distinctly yellower hue than the other. The nuance that gave their identity away, he said, was the pale stripe on either side of their heads.