Ringed Salamander

Posted on October 12, 2023 by tspuckler

While herping in the St. Louis area last weekend, I found a salamander that was definitely a highlight of my week-long herping trip.

Above, the ground color ranges from grayish black to black. The belly is normally slate gray to buff yellow. A series of bold, narrow white or yellow rings usually extends over the back but may be broken at the midline. The rings never completely encircle the body. This amphibian is usually 6 to 7 inches in total length.

The Ringed Salamander is a species of mole salamander native to hardwood and mixed hardwood-pine forested areas in and around the Ozark Plateau and Ouachita Mountains of Arkansas, Oklahoma, and Missouri.

It is found in damp, wooded areas, usually under leaves, rotting logs, or in abandoned ground holes of other organisms – often near shallow ponds. Highly fossorial (adapted to digging), adults are commonly found in subterranean refuges.

This salamander is increasingly rare and perhaps endangered. This is likely a result of its restricted range and specific breeding habitat needs. In Autumn, stimulated by heavy rains and cool temperatures, they migrate by night to fishless woodland ponds, where they may congregate by the hundreds for breeding.

It was awesome to encounter this strikingly colored salamander that is mostly cryptic and underground most of the year.

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Western Slimy Salamander

Posted on November 18, 2022 by tspuckler

I came across several of these cool creatures on my visit to Missouri last month. The Western Slimy Salamander is a black to blue-black, medium-sized woodland salamander with a long, rounded tail and numerous silvery flecks irregularly distributed over the head, back, limbs and tail.

This amphibian is in a group of some 13 closely related species called the Plethodon glutinosus complex; at one time these were all considered a single species, the Slimy Salamander. The Western Slimy Salamander is the only member of this group that occurs in Missouri.

They are most active on the surface during cooler, wet conditions in the Spring and Fall. During the hot Summer months they are difficult to find, since they retreat underground into cool, moist caves, or find damp places by burrowing into large piles of leaf litter.

Western Slimy Salamanders feed on a wide variety of arthropods, including ants, beetles, flies, worms insect larva and pill bugs. They can reach nearly 8 inches in total length, but most individuals vary from about 4 to 7 inches. Much of that length is because of its long tail.

This salamander has an interesting defense mechanism. When handled, it produces a thick, sticky substance from glands in its skin. The substance is not only extremely sticky, but is also very difficult to clean. This ploy prevents it from being eaten by snakes and other potential predators.

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Eastern Tiger Salamander

Posted on December 24, 2021 by tspuckler

While visiting southern Illinois, I came across the largest land dwelling salamander in North America. It generally grows to be between 7 and 8-1/2 inches in length, but can reach up to 13 inches.

The Eastern Tiger Salamander is stocky with sturdy limbs and a long tail. Its body color is dark brown (almost black) and irregularly marked with yellow-to-olive colored blotches.

Belonging to the family known as Mole Salamanders, Tiger Salamanders are fossorial, spending much of their lives underground, feeding on worms, snails, insects and slugs.

These salamanders migrate to breeding ponds in late Winter or early Spring. One to two days after courtship, a female lays up to a hundred eggs, which hatch about four weeks later. The larvae stay in the pond for 3 to 5 months before emerging to live on the land.

Eastern Tiger Salamanders are the most widely distributed salamander in North America and can be found in habitats ranging from woodlands to open fields to marshy areas.

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Santa Cruz Black Salamander

Posted on April 2, 2021 by tspuckler

I found this cool creature while herping the Golden State. They can measure up to 5-1/2 inches in total length. As their name implies, they are often solid black, though they sometimes sport a few fine white specks.

This amphibian belongs to a large group known as Lungless Salamanders; they do not breathe through lungs, instead they conduct respiration through their skin and the tissues lining their mouth. This requires them to live in damp environments on land and travel only during times of high humidity.

The Santa Cruz Black Salamander lives in forested areas and grasslands, where it uses rock slides, rotten logs and surface debris for cover. Like most salamanders, it feeds on small invertebrates such as spiders, beetles, ants and termites.

This is a terrestrial amphibian that does not need standing or flowing water for breeding or any other part of its life cycle, although it may be found close to creeks or seeps. There is direct development of eggs into juveniles that resemble miniature adults, except with some color variation.

It was enjoyable to make my acquaintance with this animal, which only lives within a very limited range and is endemic to California.

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Southern Two-lined Salamander

Posted on December 11, 2020 by tspuckler

While visiting southern Illinois in October of this year, I came across a few of these fine amphibians while exploring a creek. Southern Two-lined Salamanders are fairly small, usually being three to four inches in total length inches in total length.

They are tan to light yellow with two distinct black stripes running from their eyes to their tail. This creature is found in moist habitats – most commonly beneath rocks, leaves, and logs along the edges of woodland streams and seeps – but some may occur on the forest floor as well.

Like most salamanders, the Southern Two-lined Salamander eats small invertebrates like spiders, ticks, earthworms, beetles, millipedes, snails, grubs, flies and ants.

Adults head to breeding streams in late Winter to early Spring. Their eggs are attached under rocks in streams and the female attends the eggs until they hatch in late Spring. Their aquatic larval period lasts from 1-3 years.

I have Northern Two-lined Salamanders residing in the creek in my backyard, so it was nice to see their southern relatives while herping in the Land of Lincoln.

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Spotted Dusky Salamander

Posted on November 6, 2020 by tspuckler

This was a neat “lifer” that I encountered on my recent visit to southern Illinois. It only resides in Pulaski and Johnson counties in the southern part of the state. I found several in a small creek.

The Spotted Dusky Salamander’s coloration is variable from tan to brown to nearly black. It frequently has 6 to 8 pairs of golden or reddish dorsal spots, which are normally separated, but may fuse to form a light-colored band.

This species occurs along small lowland streams and in seepage areas, where it hunts for and eats earthworms, spiders, mites, centipedes, millipedes, beetles and other insects.

Dusky Salamanders are of the genus Desmognathus, derived from the Greek word desmos, meaning “ligament,” and gnathos, meaning “jaw.” It refers to the visibly enlarged bundle of ligaments on the sides of the heads of these salamanders.

Species of this genus have a unique jaw-opening mechanism where the lower jaw is stationary and the skull swings open. Its skeletal and musculature features have evolved to accompany this type of jaw-opening mechanism.

Sometimes referred to as a “Spring Lizard,” Spotted Dusky Salamanders are known to exhibit maternal care by brooding over their eggs.

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Lesser Siren

Posted on October 9, 2020 by tspuckler

While visiting southern Illinois, I had an encounter with this “lifer” amphibian. Sirens are usually regarded as the most primitive living salamanders; they share a conspicuous basic characteristic – the absence of rear limbs.

Another feature of this awesome amphibian is that it retains and uses its external gills throughout its life. Lesser Sirens are completely aquatic, rarely leaving water unless its an absolutely necessary.

Some bodies of water where they reside are temporary and may dry up at certain times of the year. In these cases, the salamander can secrete a cocoon, of sorts, which protects them from dehydrating. It can stay in this state of “suspended animation” for more than a year, until its pond refills with water.

Lesser Sirens grow to about two feet and prefer to live in swamps, ponds ditches and shallow wetlands with abundant vegetation and muddy bottoms. It is nocturnal, spending its days hidden in the debris and mud at the bottom of slow-moving bodies of water.

This creature feeds mainly on small insects, crustaceans and other invertebrates, such as worms and snails. The flattened head suggests that this creature burrows in the mud and its tiny eyes indicate that vision is not important to its survival at the bottom of dark swamplands.

Unlike most salamanders, the Lesser Siren is vocal, and will emit a series of clicks when it approaches others of its kind, It also has the ability to “yelp” if it is handled.

This amphibian is also known as the Two-legged Eel, Dwarf Siren and Mud Eel. It was super cool to finally meet on of the elusive creatures “in person” on this years visit to the Land of Lincoln.

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Rough-skinned Newt

Posted on April 20, 2019 by tspuckler

Rough-skinned Newts have relatively grainy and dry skin compared to other salamanders. They also have a fairly stocky shape. This distinctive salamander is two toned: dull grey to brown on top, and bright orange to yellow below.

Their bright belly color serves as a warning to would-be predators. When disturbed, the newt will curve its head, neck and tail upwards to display it.

I often find them in forested environments under rotting logs. Like most amphibians, newts become more active and come out of hiding when it rains, but unlike other salamander species they will venture out during the day.

Adult newts eat a variety of organisms, including insects, slugs, worms, and even amphibian eggs and larvae.

Protected by powerful tertrodotoxins, the Rough-skinned Newt is the most poisonous amphibian in the Pacific Northwest. One contains enough poison to kill 25,000 mice.

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Zigzag Salamander

Posted on December 22, 2018 by tspuckler

While visiting Snake Road in southern Illinois, I came across this “lifer” amphibian which I’ve never seen “in person” before. It reminded me of a smaller version of a Redback Salamander that is common in my area of Ohio. Its body color is dark grey with a red or orangish wavy pattern, or “zigzag,” extending from the neck down the back to the base of the tail where it straightens out.

This species is part of a large group known as Lungless Salamanders. They have no lungs and breathe through their skin and mouth. This unique trait requires them to keep the surface of their skin moist at all times. Females lay their eggs deep in underground cavities and guard their eggs until hatching. The baby salamanders do not go through an aquatic larval stage. Instead, when young salamanders emerge from their eggs they look like miniature versions of adults.

Zigzag Salamanders inhabit temperate forests, rocky areas and caves. They have a preference for moist, rocky slopes. There they hunt for spiders and beetles, which comprise most of their diet. This is one of the smallest salamanders in the United States, reaching only about three inches in total length.

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Central Newt

Posted on November 3, 2018 by tspuckler

I often see this amphibian on my visits to southern Illinois. Sometimes it is out and about (especially during rainy weather), sometimes it is found hiding under logs and sometimes I see it in the water (especially at night when walking around the edges of ponds).

They look similar to the Eastern Newts that I find in my home state of Ohio, with olive backs covered in black spots and sporting a bright yellow belly. Two rows of small red spots may be present along the back, though in some cases this little salamander lacks the red spots entirely.

The Central Newt’s habitat is woodland ponds, swamps and occasionally water-filled ditches. Its diet consists of small aquatic invertebrates such as worms, mollusks, insects and crayfish. They may also eat tadpoles and the larvae of other salamanders.

In the Spring, adults mate and females lay their eggs in water. The eggs hatch out into one-half inch tadpole-like larva. Like the Eastern Newt, the Central Newt has a land dwelling “eft” stage that spends 2 to 3 years wandering the forest floor before returning to water and leading a primarily aquatic life.

After completing their aquatic larval stage, efts emerge onto land in Autumn. Their skin as an eft is rough, rather than smooth, like most salamanders. Their skin becomes smooth again when they become adults and return to the water. It is thought that the eft stage allows them to investigate new territories to spread to.

Efts are bright orange to advertise that they are toxic to most predators. The Central Newt produces toxins in all its life stages, but the toxin is strongest during its eft stage. Their poison is tetrodotoxin, a deadly neurotoxin, which makes this species unpalatable to predatory fish and crayfish.

Although usually only about four inches in total length, these creatures have a surprisingly long lifespan of well over 10 years in the wild.

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Category Archives: Salamanders

Ringed Salamander

Western Slimy Salamander

Eastern Tiger Salamander

Santa Cruz Black Salamander

Southern Two-lined Salamander

Spotted Dusky Salamander

Lesser Siren

Rough-skinned Newt

Zigzag Salamander

Central Newt