Updating the original post on frogs being chosen over salamanders for the title of state amphibian, I found a post tonight on House Bill 389, which would make the Idaho Giant Salamander (Dicamptodon aterrimus) the Idaho state amphibian. Rep. Rich Jarvis agreed to sponsor the bill after being approached by elementary students from Christian Calvary School in Boise, Idaho. I haven't counted but this is, at least, one more for the salamanders. Way to go kids.

Updating "a salamander blog" post from June on Conservation International's discovery of a unique bug-eyed salamander species from the Nangaritza region of southeastern Ecuador, Conservation International has now posted this video of the salamander.

Viewing information at The IUCN Red List of Threatened Species on the uniquely colored Amber Salamander, Hynobius stejnegeri, I found a link to the World Wildlife Fund - WildFinder. I only used it for a few minutes but it appears to be a very good tool for showing spatial distribution of salamander species and I thought I'd share. They claim to have 26,000 species in the WildFinder database. Apparently, the Amber Salamander wasn't one of them.

I attempt to find quality books that focus on salamanders and amphibians to review at a salamander blog. "What Newt Could Do for Turtle" by Jonathan London (Author) and Louise Voce (Illustrator) was an exceptional find which I highly recommend. It had great illustrations, a valuable story about helping others without the expectation of a reward and examined the benefit of taking time alone in thought to think about how to reach a goal. This is not the author's first book based on an amphibian as he has published 16 books in the Froggy series. Additionally, several images from the book are available for purchase including my favorite shown below titled "He went on his thinking rock and thought."

Updating information from an earlier post, according to a press release from the National Zoo, because of declining health, a decision was made to euthanize the Asian Trail's Japanese Salamander in November of 2008. Somehow I missed this news and noticed it mentioned on caudata.org. The press release from the Zoo states that six other zoos around the country have Japanese Giant Salamanders on display. The following post at caudata.org provides a very detailed list of facilities around the world displaying Japanese and Chinese Giant salamanders.

While scanning several tv channels more than a month ago now, I came across a show on alternate theories of how the dinosaurs went extinct. Either on the Discovery Channel or History Channel, I can't recall. The show focused on a husband and wife team, George and Roberta Poinar, who had an alternate theory on dinosaur extinction. They proposed that environmental factors (changing climate, meteor strikes) were only a portion of the reason why dinosaurs went extinct.

In their book "What bugged the dinosaurs" (Personally, I think they could have come up with a better name), they argue that insects and diseases, many insect-borne by parasites, at the K/T boundary (the Cretaceous-Tertiary boundary, 65.5 million years ago, the point in time where scientist think most dinosaurs were either extinct or becoming extinct) could be an important factor in why dinosaurs became extinct. Insects could have devastated food sources or caused widespread disease infestations. Evidence on the idea came from investigation of amber-encased insects that existed at the K/T boundary and comparisons with insects that currently exist and cause widespread disease. By viewing blood cells with the amber-encased insects, they were also able to identify several vector-borne diseases.

The authors compared their findings with disease infestations found today in amphibians. They propose that the same process that affected the dinosaurs may be playing out in from of our eyes. As global temperatures rise slightly, disease agents become more virulent as seen with the rise of fungal diseases, such as the chytrid fungus, causing extinction and decline in amphibian populations.

Visiting Grand Marais, MN a year or so ago, my wife and I found our way into a local art gallery displaying artwork from several local artists. Some of the artists I recognized, Roy Thomas, an Ojibwa woodland style painter (a large original Roy Thomas painting can be found at the Wolf Ridge Environmental Learning Center), and Betsy Bowen, a woodcut artist whose work I recognized from a book that had been purchased for my niece, "The Troll With No Heart in his Body and Other Tales of Trolls From Norway".

That day, I found one print more fascinating than the others, a print of a Blue-spotted Salamander. I wasn't able to purchase the print that day and recently went online looking for the print with the thought that it was created by Betsy Bowen. After a few emails between us, Betsy very nicely let me know that the print was produced by another woodcut artist, Beckie Prange. With that information, I found the print I was looking for and also found that Beckie had produced another beautiful print depicting the salamander species found in Minnesota. I find the art of woodcut prints fascinating and the art created by Beckie and Betsy stunning. I've been able to purchase a hummingbird woodcut print by Betsy for my wife and hope in the near future to acquire the salamander print by Beckie. I've included links to both salamander images on the blog.

While stumbling through some salamander pages found searching StumbleUpon, I found a blog with instructions on how to make an axolotl cake. I have a birthday coming up soon and my fingers are crossed.

Update. On 9/20/2009, showing my older daughter's culinary skills, I was surprised to receive, a mudpuppy cake! I thought the lollipops as gills were great and the cake was delicious.

The Warnell School of Forestry and Natural Resources at the University of Georgia first reported and now the June 22nd issue of the Journal of Zoology describes the discovery of a new salamander species from the Southeastern states of Georgia and South Carolina. Initially found in the spring of 2007 by a graduate student from the University of Georgia and University of Missouri, they returned again in 2008 and, with the assistance of a 10-year-old son of one of the graduate student's, found the first male of the species. The salamander has been named the patch-nosed salamander,Urspelerpes brucei, because of lighter coloring on the tiny salamander’s nose. The discovery of the species is unique for several reasons most strikingly because it is the first amphibian species found in the United States for 50 years. The species also differs from other plethodontids as it exhibits sexual color dimorphism (coloration differences between male and female) and that it does not exhibit sexual size dimorphism (size differences between male and female) typically found in other plethodontids.

While I realize that a book about a toad isn't exactly salamander material, it's close enough, being a related amphibian, for me to to justify a blog entry.

While attending the Rusk County Dairy Breakfast in Ladysmith Wisconsin, I met Eileen Ziesler a local author who has self-published a book entitled "Toads". She took the time to not only chat with me about the book, amphibians, and conservation but to sing a lullaby (which I believe she should record and add to the book) to my youngest son. Throughout the area, Eileen (along with a rather large toad companion) visits schools and libraries reading from her book. This is, of course, an idea which I admire and understand as I see in my children, and felt as a child once myself, the amazement of experiencing the natural world and discovering the role that amphibians play in it. Her book is available for purchase online at Toad House Publishing which also includes links to purchase some of the prints of the fantastic watercolor images from the book. I highly recommend it.

Opening at the Royal Ontario Museum (ROM) on May 16, 2009, the Schad Gallery of Biodiversity features 2,500 species within seven ecosystem experiences. The gallery highlights endangered and threatened species from around the world and includes the life-sized model of the Chinese Giant Salamander (Andrias davidianus) shown above.

Conservation International is reporting the discovery of a unique bug-eyed salamander species from a recent expedition from the Nangaritza region of southeastern Ecuador. The salamander from the genus Bolitoglossa belongs to a group of salamanders also called Tropical climbing salamanders or Web-footed Salamanders. These are tree dwelling or arboreal salamanders that have feet that are fully webbed, enabling them to cling to smooth surfaces.