It's time for today's edition of #BenInNature presented by our friends at Carter Bank & Trust!

April 15, 2021

It's time for today's edition of #BenInNature presented by our friends at Carter Bank & Trust!

Here's another cool find that museum staff spotted last week at the Patrick County home of a good friend of the museum: Eurycea cirrigera, the southern two-lined salamander!

These salamanders are on the small side, topping out at around 12 centimeters in length. They're generally found in temperate forests, swamps, freshwater springs, and near rivers. This particular one was hiding in some leaf litter right next to a small stream.

This salamander is one of the more common species you're liable to find in Virginia (although its range doesn't extend into northern Virginia and it's less common in some of the coastal areas of the state). It can be found in much of the southeastern United States, although it's absent in the Florida peninsula.

While these salamanders are fairly common and plentiful, like many salamanders, they face threats from the urbanization of watersheds as they need clean, unpolluted streams to thrive.

ABOUT #BenInNature
Social distancing can be difficult, but it presents a great opportunity to become reacquainted with nature. In this series of posts, Administrator of Science Ben Williams ventures outdoors to record a snapshot of the unique sights that can be found in the natural world. New updates are posted Monday - Friday, with previous posts highlighted on the weekends. This series of posts is made possible thanks to the support of VMNH Corporate Partner Carter Bank & Trust (www.cbtcares.com)

NATURE PHOTO IDENTIFICATIONS
If you discover something in nature that you would like help identifying, be sure to message us right here on Facebook with a picture (please include location and date of picture) and we'll have our experts help you identify it!