Three-toed Amphiuma

Description:

A long-eel like salamander with tiny little legs and feet with three toes. The eyes are reduced, blue in color, and their vision is not great since they live in murky water.

Habitat:

Found in the southeastern US is swampy areas. They rarely leave the water unless after a heavy rain. This guy was caught in a trap while trying to catch turtles for research. We put him in this tray to get pictures (which was not easy, you can tell by my not so good pictures!), then he was released back into the lake, which you can see in the last photo. He sat on the bank for a few seconds before swimming off.