Marbled Salamander Identification

Sporting white or gray bands across its body this secretive species is known to hide out beneath leaves and logs.

Marbled salamander identification.

Marbled salamander occurrence map. The small mouthed salamander is an endangered species in michigan. The background color is rich black and becomes a light bluish black on the lower sides. Marbled salamanders are sexually dimorphic and dichromatic meaning that males and females are shaped and colored differently.

They can be identified by their black dark brown body including its venter with light white silvery crossbandson the dorsum. 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. It is closely related to the spotted blue spotted and jefferson salamanders. Small stout bodied species.

Description marbled salamanders grow to about 3 5 4 25 in 9 10 7 cm in size and are stout bodiedand chubby in appearance. This species is sexually dimorphic males tend. The upper body pattern is made up of white to light grey crossbands that run across the head body and tail. The marbled salamander is listed as a threatened species in michigan.

The bands of females tend to be gray while those of males are more white. The marbled salamander is a mole salamander. The bands often run together or are interrupted and broadest on the sides of the body. Like most mole salamanders it is relatively thick bodied.

Like most of the mole salamanders it is secretive spending most of its life under logs or in burrows. At 4 5 inches long it is shorter than its relatives but proportionately chunkier plump. Small mouthed salamander occurrence map. These are fairly large stout black salamanders with wide silver or white bands.

The marbled salamander is a stocky boldly banded salamander. Marbled salamanders are part of the mole salamander family which is a group of salamanders endemic to north america and the only genus in the family ambystomatidae. The species generally inhabits deciduous forest and prairie and is absent from much of the appalachian mountains 1 2.