I was lucky to find this salamander under a big log, because the area was extremely dry, more suited for the alligator lizard and fence lizards that I saw nearby. It really didn't want to pose for me, and kept plodding for cover, but eventually it sat still for a few seconds and I got a decent shot.

This young salamander was found in the usual salamander place -- under a log. It was something of a consolation prize after my friend Bruce Schneider and I had spent a very long day of hiking hoping unsuccessfully to find Mt. St. Helena Mountain Kingsnakes to admire and photograph. (Bruce went back the next weekend and did find one.)

On the hunt for Red-bellied Newts, I found a few other salamander species, including several of these black salamanders.

Very young Aneides flavipunctatus are often flecked with green or gold. This tiny tot was less than an inch long.