One of the nice things about having a creek in my backyard is that I don’t have to go far to find cool stuff. The Northern Two-lined Salamander is a small (3-5”) stream-side salamander with a yellowish olive stripe down its back bordered by two black lines.
In spring it lays eggs submerged underwater and attached to the underside of a rock. The larvae hatch one month later and remain in an aquatic larval stage until metamorphosis two years later. Adults live on land and can be found under rocks, logs and leaf litter at the water’s edge. These amphibians can be rather common and don’t seem to be affected by pollution as much as other types of salamanders.
Northern Two-lined Salamanders exhibit complex courtship behavior. A male uses his head to nudge or poke a potential mate, and encircles the female’s head with the front of his body. The male scratches the female’s skin with his teeth, possibly allowing secretions to enter the female’s bloodstream.
The adult salamander’s diet consist of insects such as beetles, mayflies, and springtails, as well as spiders, pillbugs, and centipedes. Adults may also consume other small invertebrates including earthworms and snails.
The Northern Two-lined Salamander has short stocky limbs. They are active mostly at night, especially after rains. This rainy Fall weather we’ve been having is “prime time” for finding them. Once, when coming home at night in the rain, there was one on the side door of my house!