I need some help.
The 1st picture below is a salamander I caught a couple days ago in our stone driveway, I suspect looking for a good place to spend the winter. What kind is it?
I commonly find salamanders, especially under the tarp I put down in our gravel and stone driveway that I put pallets on. And then stack my cut and split firewood on in March and April. See the 2nd picture. I pulled and restacked the firewood a couple weeks ago and these were under the tarp. See 3rd picture.
I also find them down cellar where our BILCO door leads to the outside – 4th picture.
Our location: upstate rural NY and we are about 1 1/2 miles from the south shore of Lake Ontario. House sits back about 700 feet from the road and we're surrounded by brushy woods. There’s a small, shallow pond in the woods about 200 feet away from our barn, so a good place for salamanders.
I let all of them go in a good spot that they can winter over in.
So, can anybody identify that black salamander in the 1st picture. All black, no spots and about 6 – 7 inches long. Note that it has 4 toes on his front feet and 5 toes on his back feet.
All guesses welcome. Thanks.
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