Zara Scientists Find New Locality for Endangered Barton Springs Salamander

PicturePhoto of Eurycea sosorum collected from well
An historic discovery was made yesterday as Zara staff, accompanied by colleagues from Blanton & Associates, Inc., collected a Barton Springs salamander from a 200-foot deep well in southern Travis County. The well, which intersects the Edwards Aquifer, had been sampled more than 200 times since January 2010, but this was the first time that a salamander was encountered. The Barton Springs salamander, Eurycea sosorum, which was previously documented from only five other central Texas sites, is being submitted to experts who will genetically sequence the material to determine the relationship between this salamander and those from nearby known locations.