This small, slender salamander is orange to grayish brown above, sometimes with small black and bluish speckles on the sides. This is Ohio’s smallest salamander – and the first one I’ve ever found. Adults are 2 to 3 inches long; their tails make up over half their length.

Though it ranges throughout much of the state, it only occurs where boggy ponds or spring-fed creeks are available in or near damp wooded habitats. As its name implies, this amphibian has only four digits on its front and hind feet.

Four-toed Salamanders can voluntarily detach their tails, which continue to wiggle to distracting predators. This autonomization of their tails in unique. The tails of most salamanders must be grasped to come off.

It was cool to finally meet this uncommon and secretive creature in the wild.

Third Eye Herp
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