Little monsters

School is officially out and the summer research season begins again! I was reading up on my Pacific Northwest salamanders when I came across this silly character with a face only a mother could love:

California Herps - Aneides lugubris

ADORABLE - buggy eyes and all! That is an Aneides lugubris, otherwise known as a an arboreal salamander because they can be found up in trees, think 30 meters (over 98 feet) off the ground!

As you can see they have quite a muscular jaw and sharp teeth, good for hunting small bugs, worms, and other types of grub. Since they are kind of big, about 5-10 cm, they can hunt larger prey than other salamanders and have even been found with bits of salamanders in their bellies!

California Herps - Aneides lugubris

Another cool fact about A. lugubris has to do with their tree-lovin' lifestyle. Like monkeys, they have prehensile tails which means they can grab things with it...like a branch. Other salamanders have this trait too. They also lay their eggs on a jelly-like string that attaches to the underside of something, usually wood or a rock. They look like grapes hanging off a vine. This is not an A. lugubris but A. aeneus, the green salamander, a closely related species:

You can't really tell but they are suspended from the ceiling! Weird huh? 

Sources:
Jones, L. L. C., Leonard, W. P., and D. H. Olson. Amphibians of the Pacific Northwest. Hong Kong: Seattle Audubon Society, 2005. Print.