ID Please - wormlike with 4 legs

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slywlf Brooksville, FL(Zone 9a) Apr 01, 2009

I posted this in another forum last October, but no luck so I'll try here.

I was picking up some wood that had been sitting outside for 9 months, and among the earthworms I saw several critters I've never seen before. They look just like earthworms in color and texture, but they are quadrupedal, with distinctly wedge shaped heads. My reading here hinted at them being land planaria, but those seem to have cilia, not legs. What have I got here? I am in the NY Catskills.

I wish I had been able to get pix but when I picked one up it fought so fiercely I was afraid I would hurt it, and once it hit the ground it disappeared into the grass. I haven't seen anything like it since, though I may put down a board in the same spot just to see if I find another.

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suunto Sinks Grove, WV Apr 01, 2009

You really do need to get a photo if at all possible. If they actually did have four legs, they might have been small salamanders.

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holeth Corpus Christi, TX(Zone 9a) Apr 24, 2009

I agree. Sounds like a type of lungless salamander, especially the red salamander or spring salamander. I don't know the range of the red salamander, but the spring salamander occurs in the high plateau of the Pocono Mts, and therefore would also be at home in the lowlands of upstate of NY (latitude mimics altitude). Here's a link to salamanders found in MD, including a pic of the spring salamander.
http://www.montgomerycountymd.gov/deptmpl.asp?url=/content/dep/herps/Newts.asp

Do you have spring-fed ponds or brooks near your property?

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slywlf Brooksville, FL(Zone 9a) Jan 05, 2010

Thanks for the feedback and link. I wish I could have gotten a picture or two, but the little guy was so frantic to get away I was afraid I would hurt him, so I put him down promptly. Also, the skin was enough like a worms that I was concerned my skin secretions might be actively painful, another good reason not to hold on long enough to locate a camera. If I had seen anything close by to put him in I would have done that so I could take a picture but it all happened too fast for more than a close look and let 'em go. Two of the salamanders in the pictures look a little like what I had, but neither the red northern nor the spring are an exact match - the red has the odd wedge shaped head - the spring is closer in color. I guess I'll have to lay down some wood in the spring and see if I can catch another and get him to pose this time :-/

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slywlf Brooksville, FL(Zone 9a) Jan 05, 2010

Oh, and yes, I am about 1/4 mile from the Esopus Creek, though I wouldn't think that would help much because it's across a busy road. No creeks or ponds on my property, though I do keep several bird baths, including ground level ones - over-sized planter dishes - including one a few feet from where I found these guys.

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