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Unable to fetch location details at this time.Wildlife Spotting
42.698, -70.7947
Field Notes
Description:
Salamander larvae or wood frog tadpole? We found a very small egg mass (6 eggs) in a vernal pond in Ipswich, Massachusetts. We brought them home and are keeping them in a container, although we didn't think the eggs were viable. The gelatinous mass around them was floppy and cloudy, not firm and clear. But they all hatched within days. We think they are salamander larvae, but we're not sure. External gills very visible. Most of the time they are still, but when they swim, they swim rapidly in small circles and seem very different than tadpoles. Length is a bit longer than the diameter of a dime. We are keeping them well-supplied with fresh pondwater and will move them to a container where they can climb out onto land.
Habitat:
Vernal pond in woods.
Notes:
My guess is that they can't be identified to species level at this point, but are they salamanders or tadpoles? Both wood frogs and spotted salamanders are common in this area.
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