The Eurycea nana is the smallest of its genus. The average length for this salamander is about 2 inches long but can reach up to 3.25 inches. It is slender with short slender limbs. It has four toes on its front feet and five toes on its rear feet. Since the San Marcos Salamander is a totally aquatic organism it has external gills that are right behind the head. Therefore, he has no lungs. This salamander is dark reddish brown in color.
The Eurycea nana belongs to the Eukaryota Domain. This indicates that the organism has a nucleus. The Eurycea nana belongs to the Animalia Kingdom, the Chordata Phylum, the Amphibia Class, the Caudata Order, the Plethodonidae Family, and the Eurycea Genus.
The San Marcus Salamander is native to Texas and is found only in spring fed areas from the San Marcos and Comal Rivers. The water is so clear in this area that if you visit and pay close attention you may be able to spot a couple of these organisms. It is essential for this organism to be in clean and clear water that is constant in temperature. And as all of us that have visited springs know, this water stays cool all year long. They tend to hide in the underbrush of limestone shelving. The limestone creates an undercarriage of abundant aquatic moss and algae providing the ideal habitat for the Salamander. The dark reddish brown color of the algae allows the salamander to blend in perfectly with its surroundings and be almost undetectable by predators. This growth also provides an abundance of living organisms for the salamander to consume.
Bioprospectors examine this species in an effort to maintain biodiversity. What will happen if this species no longer exists? Will the vegetation they feed on become overgrown and destroy other valuable vegetation? If other vegetation is destroyed what other organisms will that effect?
Not only will global warming totally wipe out this species because it has to have water that is at a constant temperature; but, the events leading up to global warming will eventually eradicate this organism if preventative steps are not taken. This salamander can only thrive in clean spring water which means that the pollution from humans and our industries are a main threat. Also, as noted by the Texas Parks and Wildlife Department, this species needs protection from new species being brought into the area. New species may destroy the algae and vegetation that is essential for the salamander’s survival as well as force them to compete for food.
Salamanders begin as larvae in a body of water very much like frogs which are their closest relative. In time some salamanders grow lungs and others become completely terrestrial. The San Marcos Salamander is totally aquatic throughout life. It will never grow lungs. This salamander has a few obvious adaptations that contribute to its fitness. One of the salamanders’ adaptations is its ability to change the color of its dorsal fin. It can go from light tan to dark tan depending on its surroundings. This can attract other salamanders for mating or it can be used as a device to scare off predators or prevent it from being detected from predators all together. Another adaptation that this salamander has along with other members of its family is that it can regenerate body parts. In other words if a predator grabs a hold of its tail it can drop it off and re-grow a perfect duplicate. The same holds true if a limb is bitten off. They can also re-grow parts of their hearts, retinas and lenses. And lastly their eye sight has developed over the years to assist in finding food keeping the species alive.
I feel that we should target the salamander’s ability to regenerate its missing limbs for biological study in helping humans that have been amputated. First we need to find the salamanders that can regenerate at a rapid pace. We will need to selectively breed them with one another. It appears that the breeding cycle is year round because larvae have been found in every month of the year. “Egg clutches” have never been found in the wild. However, we know from having this species in captivity that the clutches contain about 20 eggs. They lay their eggs in thick vegetation. After 24 days larvae similar to tadpoles emerge. After the tadpoles develop into mature salamanders we will take the ones that have the fastest regenerating time and breed them with other fast regenerating salamanders. Throughout the generations we should be able to develop a highly effective and quickly regenerating salamander. From here we will need to be able to isolate the gene that makes this regenerating occur.
Human have a very limited amount of body parts that we can regenerate. Regenerating growth has been seen in small children that cut off the tip of their finger. This growth includes regeneration of the bone, skin and nail. This same growth has not been seen in adults. However, regeneration in all age groups has been seen in the liver, muscles, bones and some isolated tissue.
Imagine if we could isolate the gene from rapidly regenerating salamanders and implant it into humans. There are so many types of injuries that could be fixed. Why in nature does it appear that the more advanced a species is the less regenerating power the species has. Is this because our cells are being used for the highly developed areas of our bodies and refuse to perform such a trivial task as regeneration?
References:
www.wikipedia.org/wiki/Salamander.com
www.tpwd.state.tx.us/huntwild/wild/species/sanmarcossalamander
