Marbled Salamander Description

The bands of females tend to be gray while those of males are more white.

Marbled salamander description. The body is black with light bands of varying widths running across the back. Marbled salamanders ambystoma opacum urodela. The marbled salamander is one of many amphibians found in the bottomland hardwood forests of mississippi. A small stout salamander with silvery or white saddle shaped marks on its body from head to tail.

The marbled salamander lives in forests and woodlands. It spends most of its time in a burrow in leaf litter or under bark and logs. A small stout bodied salamander this species is easily identified by its distinct black and white patterning across its entire body. They can be identified by their black dark brown body including its venter with light white silvery crossbands on the dorsum.

The cross bands can vary dramatically between individuals with some individuals being striped. Marbled salamanders grow to about 3 5 4 25 in 9 10 7 cm in size and are stout bodied and chubby in appearance. They are gray to black in color with silvery white cross bands on males and grayish cross bands on females. The back is generally shiny jet black while the belly is plain black.

They have smooth dark gray to black skin or even deep purple above with a gray belly. Marbled salamanders hide during the daytime under logs or bushes. This species is sexually dimorphic males tend to have white crossbands and females tend to have gray silvery crossbands. The marbled salamander is a stocky boldly banded salamander.

Marbled salamander ambystoma opacum description marbled salamanders reach a length of 4 to 5 inches 10 to 12 7 cm head and body. Disjunct populations are found in eastern missouri central illinois in northwest ohio. The marbled salamander ambystoma opacum is a species of mole salamander found in the eastern united states. Like other ambystomatids these salamanders spend most of their time underground in burrows and are infrequently seen outside of the breeding season.

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. The marbled salamander is a stocky medium sized salamander. It can be found in a variety of habitats from moist sandy areas to dry hillsides. Light silver to white markings are on their back.

Adults can grow to about 11 cm 4 in small compared to other members of its genus. Therefor the marbled salamander is hardly seen by people. 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. The marbled salamander is a nocturnal animal which means they are only active in the nighttime.

Diet adult marbled salamanders eat invertebrates including earthworms slugs snails centipedes and a variety of insects. Marbled salamander in boone county.