Today I found my first Marbled Salamanders ever. They are named because of their pattern.
Marbled Salamanders are part of a group known as “mole salamanders,” and spend most of its life under logs or in burrows.
Unlike most mole salamanders, instead of laying eggs in the spring, Marbled Salamanders lay their eggs in the fall in low areas that are likely to flood during winter rains. The female coils around the eggs until they can be underwater.
This reproduction strategy gives baby Marbled Salamanders a “head start.” The Marbled Salamander larvae gain a size advantage by feeding and growing for several months before the much larger Jefferson Salamanders and Spotted Salamanders hatch later in the spring.
