While walking along the edge of a glade in Missouri, I hiked along a creek. I rolled a few logs to see what herps would turn up, and I encountered this “lifer” amphibian. Noticeably territorial, this salamander marks its territory with scent to notify other salamanders of its presence.
The Southern Redback Salamander is typically gray or black in color, with a red-brown, fading stripe across the width of its back. It grows from 3 to 4 inches in length. This creature can evade predators by dropping all or part of its tail in the event of an attack.
Mostly nocturnal, this creature lives in ground debris in moist, forested areas. It is often found beneath rocks, logs and leaf litter in mixed hardwood forests. In dry seasons, it moves closer to permanent water sources. Its primary diet is small insects, spiders and other invertebrates.
Due to their lack of lungs, they need to live in damp or moist habitats in order to breathe. Unlike many other amphibian species, they have no aquatic larval stage. Females lay eggs in damp environments and the eggs hatch as tiny land-dwelling salamanders.