Salamander
Last night I went out to take the trash out to the road and there was a huge salamander walking across the porch. Not as huge as those big orange ones from China, but still the biggest one I've ever seen in person – about 6 or 7 inches long.
I looked it up online (photo to come) and am pretty sure it's an arboreal salamander. It's an amphibian adapted for climbing (see also: arboreal locomotion), it's born fully formed (no larval stage) and it has no lungs – all of its respiration takes place directly through its skin.
I've been thinking all day about what it might feel like to be that open and porous – to have the world moving in and out of me not just through the clearly defined passageway of nose – throat – lungs – blood, but all over my entire body.
No wonder they're such sensitive creatures.
Having such a large one living in my yard makes me feel good about the safe habitat we've created. It's mostly Mr. A's doing – he's deeply dedicated to the protection of shy creatures, as he calls them. We have little islands every few feet or so throughout the yard, which appear to the untrained eye to be nothing more than piles of yard waste and debris, but which are actually strategically placed to help lizards and toads move around their environment without being overly exposed to danger from above.
He also maintains bird watering stations every 25-50 feet or so, designed to overflow and water the plants beneath, so there's always damp cover available.
Anyway. Thinking about breathing through the skin. I like that idea very much.
I looked it up online (photo to come) and am pretty sure it's an arboreal salamander. It's an amphibian adapted for climbing (see also: arboreal locomotion), it's born fully formed (no larval stage) and it has no lungs – all of its respiration takes place directly through its skin.
I've been thinking all day about what it might feel like to be that open and porous – to have the world moving in and out of me not just through the clearly defined passageway of nose – throat – lungs – blood, but all over my entire body.
No wonder they're such sensitive creatures.
Having such a large one living in my yard makes me feel good about the safe habitat we've created. It's mostly Mr. A's doing – he's deeply dedicated to the protection of shy creatures, as he calls them. We have little islands every few feet or so throughout the yard, which appear to the untrained eye to be nothing more than piles of yard waste and debris, but which are actually strategically placed to help lizards and toads move around their environment without being overly exposed to danger from above.
He also maintains bird watering stations every 25-50 feet or so, designed to overflow and water the plants beneath, so there's always damp cover available.
Anyway. Thinking about breathing through the skin. I like that idea very much.
2 Comments:
I like the skinbreathing notion too. I'm very impressed by "Mr A"'s accommodations and name for dem critters.
Very cool. Please do post a pic, if you have time.
Finding an amphibian is def. a testament to the quality of the habitat in your yard. Amphibians are very fragile and not all that adaptive, so you guys must be doing all the right things.
P.S. So arboreal salamanders don't metamorphose? I didn't know that!
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