Breeding Marbled Salamanders

Taylor and scott 1997 estimated 50 annual survival for adult marbled salamanders in south carolina.

Breeding marbled salamanders.

Each female lays her clutch of 30 to 100 eggs in a dry depression and the embryos begin to develop. 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 are a medium sized chunky salamander reaching up to 4 25 inches in length 10 8 cm as adults they have a variable number of white bars on the body. Sporting white or gray bands across its body this secretive species is known to hide out beneath leaves and logs.

Due to the terrestrial reproductive habits of marbled salamanders breeding is restricted to fish free wetlands with seasonally fluctuating. Although other salamander species in the mole salamander family breed in water the marbled salamander does not. Like other mole salamanders marbled salamanders are predators of. The female stays with her developing eggs until rain fills the wetland and triggers.

The marbled salamander is a relatively common resident throughout north carolina. It migrates to a pond before autumn rains begin. Marbled salamanders breed in autumn unlike most other mole salamanders which breed in winter and migrate to wetlands during before a good rain to court and mate. There the animal begins to court and mate.

However because marbled salamanders are the only fall breeder larvae encountered in vernal pool habitats in winter or early spring february april prior to other salamanders breeding are likely to. Like other ambystomatids these salamanders spend most of their time underground in burrows and are infrequently seen outside of the breeding season. In this species breeding takes place in the autumn and on land near fishless woodland ponds or swamps. Breeding habitat marbled salamanders are one of two species of ambystoma that breed on land petranka 1998 and they are the only ambystoma species that exhibit parental care nussbaum 1985 1987.

Fertilization is internal and each female may lay 50 200 eggs usually in small depressions under logs in leaf litter or under vegetation at the edge of the water. Marbled salamanders ambystoma opacum urodela. September is the peak breeding period in massachusetts for one of its most attractive yet unorthodox amphibian species the marbled salamander ambystoma opacum during rainy foggy or very humid nights adults emerge from underground burrows in the forest and migrate overland to swamps and vernal pools to breed and deposit eggs. Larval marbled salamanders are difficult to distinguish from other ambystoma salamanders of nh spotted blue spotted and jefferson salamanders.