Strange salamander
Posted by Nelita Miranda on July 17, 2006
Q: I found a creature at the lake that looked like a salamander but its body was long and fat like a tail and it curled upwards like a scorpion and squirted something white.
It was tanish brown and spotted black. It buried itself in the sand before I could find anything to catch it with. What could it have been?
Habitat: pond/lake
State: Georgia
Habitat: pond/lake
A: Thanks for giving me your location in Georgia - this was an important part of making an approximate ID.
I can't give you a name of a single organism that you found but I think I can come close. Your location in Augusta puts you at the edge of the ranges of Amphiumas and Lesser and Greater Sirens. These 3 are salamanders that have very reduced legs so they look very snake-like or eel-like in appearance. Try googling these animals to see if one looks like your mystery animal. If you did indeed see one of these interesting salamanders, you can be sure you've seen an animal few people have seen, let alone even know about. Thanks for asking.
John Wiessinger ( July 18, 2006)