Marbled Salamander Salamanders Arkansas

The marbled salamander is a relatively common resident throughout north carolina.

Marbled salamander salamanders arkansas.

They can live between11 14 years if properly cared for. They can be identified by their black dark brown body including its venter with light white silvery crossbands on the dorsum. 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. Like most of the mole salamanders it is secretive spending most of its life under logs or in burrows.

Like other mole salamanders marbled salamanders are predators of smaller creatures but though they are voracious predators of insects worms and slugs they along with their eggs and juvenile forms provide food for many other hungry animals. Desmognathus dusky salamanders eurycea brook salamanders hemidactylium four toed salamanders and plethodon woodland. Herps of arkansas frogs and salamanders alligator lizards snakes and turtles. It gets its name from the white or silver bands that cover the black bodies of adult salamanders.

Marbled salamander ambystoma opacum. The bands of females tend to be gray while those of males are more white. Plethodontidae lungless salamanders genera. The marbled salamander is a stocky boldly banded salamander.

The marbled salamander is typically found in floodplains and low lying fertile areas dominated by hardwood trees. The bands are variable in size and shape and may be incomplete. Adult marbled salamanders maintained on a low food diet were more prone to bite an intruding salamander than those on a high food diet ducey and heuer 1991 which may indicate that aggression functions to repel an intruder from an individual s feeding area burrow refuge. They typically grow to about 4 inches long.

Adults can grow to about 11 cm 4 in small compared to other members of its genus. Adults are easily distinguished from other species. Marbled salamanders are black with white splotches and bands giving them a marbled appearance. A small stout bodied salamander measuring 3 4 5 inches with distinct light crossbands across a dark back.

The mission of this website is to distribute and share knowledge regarding the naturally occurring reptiles and amphibians of arkansas. Sporting white or gray bands across its body this secretive species is known to hide out beneath leaves and logs. This species is sexually dimorphic males tend to have white crossbands and females tend to have gray silvery crossbands. Larvae are easily confused with spotted blue spotted and jefferson salamanders.

Marbled salamander in boone county.