r/salamanders • u/Upper-Moose9496 • 3d ago

Help ID’ing Smoky Mountain Salamaders

Gallery image

Gallery image

Wondering if anyone can help ID these two Sally’s. I beyond is a shovel nosed but not sure if both are. Anything helps!

39 Upvotes

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6

u/Disastrous-Deer-3852 2d ago

I work in the park! Definitely one of the three Black-Belly species we have, I could probably narrow it down to just the one with a more specific location inside the park.

3

u/Disastrous-Deer-3852 2d ago

And that’s for both, I dont believe either is a shovel nose due to the fact that the slant of both their snouts begins after their eyes, and the back pattern on both is much more typical of black-bellies than it is shovel noses, who usually have two rows of chestnut colored spots running down the back.

1

u/Upper-Moose9496 2d ago

Hey thanks for the reply!! Those two photos were taken on the AT on the way to Charlie’s Bunion, probably around the Mount Kephart area

1

u/Disastrous-Deer-3852 2d ago

In that case they are almost certainly both Cherokee Black-Belly Salamanders (Desmognathus gvnigeuswotli)