Herpy Tuesday: Blue Ridge Two-Lined Salamander

Prowling Zion Hill Road after the rain last Tuesday were twig-sized Blue Ridge Two-Lined Salamanders (Eurycea wilderae). 

Most folks wouldn’t describe amphibians as “cute”, yet these guys seem to fill the bill! These are differentiated from the Southern Two-Lined Salamander, whose range abuts the Blue Ridge in Gilmer, by looking at how the “two-lines” are broken on the tails of wilderae. 

Thanks to the folks at the Georgia Department of Natural Resources and the Savannah River Ecology Laboratory for checking the identification!