This and all photographs by the author.

A lovely salamander spiced up an evening of rain

Fascinating creatures that love rain, because they (literally) need to be covered by a film of water to breathe.

I was running through the forest under a light rain late last evening. It was almost night, in fact. Suddenly something crosses the trail right ahead of me. I had to stop and check it out.

It was a lovely salamander, all black and yellow, enjoying another rainy day -the 6th or 7th in a row. See how colorful and moist its skin is:

Length? Around 15-20 cm, tail included. Genus? Probably Ambystoma maculatum (based on WikiPedia). Concerns for extinction? Apparently none!

I took a few photos and then let it continue on its way.