Marbled Salamander Defenses

They can live between11 14 years if properly cared for.

Marbled salamander defenses.

The body is black with light bands of varying widths running across the back. Adults can grow to about 11 cm 4 in small compared to other members of its genus. They typically grow to about 4 inches long. Marbled salamanders and the department of defense the marbled salamander ambystoma opacum is one of the more commonly found mole salamanders on military installations.

This and many other amphibians require small fishless woodland. It may also occur in open sandy woods and on rocky dry hillsides. Apparently both conifer and deciduous forests are used equally wilson 1995. Like most of the mole salamanders it is secretive spending most of its life under logs or in burrows.

Marbled salamander ambystoma opacum description. Habitat and tank requirements. This secretive salamander spends most of its time under rocks logs or forest debris preferring forested areas. They can be identified by their black dark brown body including its venter with light white silvery crossbands on the dorsum.

This salamander can be found in moist to mesic forests of lowland areas and to a lesser extent uplands. Defense mechanisms like all salamanders the marbled salamander has the ability to remove its tail with an ability called autotomy. It is known to breed in cypress tupelo swamps and ponds in the coastal plain wilson 1995. Mark urban cc by nd.

The marbled salamander is a stocky boldly banded salamander. The bands of females tend to be gray while those of males are more white. Marbled salamander in boone county. This species is sexually dimorphic males tend to have white crossbands and females tend to have gray silvery crossbands.

Marbled salamanders are black with white splotches and bands giving them a marbled appearance. Marbled salamanders are keystone predators in new england ponds but adaptation by the smaller spotted salamander can dramatically change the composition of the ponds. The marbled salamander is one of many amphibians found in the bottomland hardwood forests of mississippi. The salamanders from ponds with the predatory marbled salamander adapted to the predator by becoming gluttonous eat and get big so you don t get eaten yourself.

The latin word opacum means shaded dark obscure or dim and refers to the adult dorsal color pattern.