Marbled Salamander Adaptations

This species is sexually dimorphic males tend to have white crossbands and females tend to have gray silvery crossbands.

Marbled salamander adaptations.

The marbled salamander is a stocky boldly banded salamander. When something snags its tail the salamander will drop its tail and run away. It can be found in a variety of habitats from moist sandy areas to dry hillsides. Habitat photo for marbled salamander courtesy of rebecca chalmers.

Ambystoma opacum the marbled salamander is found throughout most of the eastern united states from massachusetts west to central illinois southeastern missouri and oklahoma and eastern texas south to the gulf of mexico and the carolina coast it is absent from peninsular florida. Marbled salamander distribution in massachusetts based on the natural heritage database records from 1980 2006. The bands of females tend to be gray while those of males are more white. Disjunct populations are found in eastern missouri central illinois in northwest ohio.

It spends most of its time in a burrow in leaf litter or under bark and logs. Breeding site fidelity and dispersal there is some evidence of breeding site fidelity among adults williams 1973 scott 1994. Adults can grow to about 11 cm 4 in small compared to other members of its genus. Background marbled salamanders are distributed across the eastern us from new hampshire to northern florida and west to lake michigan in the north and texas in the south 1 the species generally inhabits deciduous forest and prairie and is absent from much of the appalachian mountains 1 2 in massachusetts it is present at relatively low abundances partially due to being at the extreme.

They live for about 8 years to 10 years on average. Diet adult marbled salamanders eat invertebrates including earthworms slugs snails centipedes and a variety of insects. The marbled salamander is one of the smaller ambystomatid mole salamander species found in north carolina with adults only reaching lengths between 3 4 inches. As with many ambystomatids the marbled salamander is a relatively stocky species.

Deciduous and mixed forests adjacent to vernal pools. Marbled salamanders have a long life comparatively. The most interesting adaptation of the salamander is a structural one. The marbled salamander lives in forests and woodlands.

They can be identified by their black dark brown body including its venter with light white silvery crossbands on the dorsum. Almost all carnivorous and omnivorous species of animal kingdom are predators of marbled salamanders. Marbled salamanders grow to about 3 5 4 25 in 9 10 7 cm in size and are stout bodied and chubby in appearance. Eggs are laid in the fall under coarse woody debris while the pools are dry.

Even other relatively bigger amphibians also prey on marbled salamanders.