Austin Blind Salamander (Eurycea waterlooensis)
Description: This species is a perennibranchiate form that maintains permanent larval morphology. E. waterlooensis has a mixture of morphological characters which set it apart from the rest of Eurycea. These include: the absence of external eyes - no image-forming lenses but instead small subdermal eye spots; its characterization as a perennibranchiate; the presence of 12 costal grooves; limbs proportionately smaller than in its two closest relatives - E. rathbuni and E. robusta; and weakly developed tail fins - the ventral section of the tail fin is present only on the posterior half and the dorsal section is nearly absent on the anterior half. This species has an extended snout and a shimmering, lustrous white appearance due to the reflective connective tissue that lies beneath its transparent skin. Occasionally, shades of lavender are exhibited, and a row of iridophores sometimes can be found along the sides of body and tail.
Habitat: This completely aquatic salamander has been observed at spring outlets, but probably it is mostly restricted to subterranean cavities of the Edwards Aquifer
Range: E. waterlooensis has an extremely limited distribution. It has been discovered in three of the four outlets of Barton Springs in Austin, Texas.
Found in these States:
TX
Diet: Diet includes at least ostracods, copepods, amphipods, and aquatic plants.
Status: Listed as Vulnerable because its area of occupancy is less than 20 km2.
»» Kingdom: Animalia - Animals
»» Phylum: Chordata - Chordates
»» Subphylum: Vertebrata - Vertebrates
»» Class: Amphibia - (Amphibians)
»» Order: Caudata - Salamanders
»» Family: Plethodontidae - Lungless Salamanders
»» Genus: Eurycea
»» Species: Eurycea waterlooensis - Austin Blind Salamander
This article uses material from the Wikipedia article "Austin Blind Salamander", which is released under the Creative Commons Attribution-Share-Alike License 3.0. Content may have been omitted from the original, but no content has been changed or extended.
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