autumndorr's Favorites

One of 4 individuals of this amazing species observed while exploring a tributary of the Unadilla River. After reading Bishop's seminal work "Handbook of Salamanders", my best friend/cousin/fellow Herpetologist "Pete" (@jdanch) and I decided to check out some historical New York State records for C. alleghaniensis listed in the book, some dating back to the 1940's! We set out on a field trip to examine some old locality records from Delaware County, and were amazed to find a population still extant at one particular locale. Unfortunately we noticed a decrease in the water quality as we worked our way downstream, encountering several small factories pumping effluent directly into the river. I believe this had negatively impacted this population even prior to the 1980's, as we observed no subadults or juveniles, only the 4 large and apparently old adults (one being a "monster" female, only 2 inches shy of the 29 1/8" record specimen!) - despite the two of us having field experience with this species, and a thorough search of over a mile of potential habitat. One specimen had an unusual, large "egg-shaped" growth/lesion on the upper caudal region, a condition I suspect was related to the deteriorating water quality. Sadly, it has come to my knowledge that recent biological surveys at this location targeting this particular species have produced no additional observations of North America's very own magnificent "Giant Salamander".