Salamander Video Series: Salamanders of Illinois

Film Date:

August, September and October 2021 and March 2022

Speaker:

Andrew Kuhns, Aquatic Ecologist, Herpetologist, Illinois Natural History Survey, Prairie Research Institute, University of Illinois

Produced by:

Sarah and Uros Marjanovic

Edited by:

Sarah Marjanovic

Did you know there are 20 species of salamanders in Illinois? In Part 1 of a video series on the Salamanders of Illinois, Illinois Natural History Survey Aquatic Ecologist/Herpetologist Andrew Kuhns provides an overview of these amphibians. Filmed at an ephemeral wetland where mole salamanders breed, Kuhns starts with a discussion of the lungless salamander family, which includes the mole salamander. Kuhns goes on to identify three other members of the lungless salamander family—the siren, mudpuppy and the most likely extirpated hellbender—and some of the other species of salamanders found in the Prairie State.

If you are interested in viewing the text alternative for the video click the CC option at the lower margin of the video.

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Kathy Andrews Wright is retired from the Illinois Department of Natural Resources where she was editor of Outdoor Illinois magazine. She is currently the editor of Outdoor Illinois Wildlife Journal and Illinois Audubon magazine.