Bishop's Salamander, Ambystoma bishopi, is a critically endangered species. Native to the coastal long-leaf pine forests of the southeastern United States, much of the habitat for this species has been converted to agriculture. The salamander spends much of its life below the ground as a true fossorial species. Adults emerge after the early rains each spring nand breed in temporary ponds. If the water levels last long enough, the larval salamanders metamorphose and disappear below ground with the adults. The species is listed by the IUCN as "VU" vulnerable, it is listed as endangered in both Florida and Georgia, and is listed by NatureServe as G2 Imperiled. A program has been established to develop methods to raise wild collected eggs in captivity which will hopefully lead to captive breeding. This clump of dirt holds roughly 6 eggs from the salamanders and this is the method used to collect eggs from the field. This photograph of the program taken in 2012.