Marbled Salamander Larvae

The marbled salamander is typically found in floodplains and low lying fertile areas dominated by hardwood trees.

Marbled salamander larvae. Marbled salamanders only eat live prey. It gets its name from the white or silver bands that cover the black bodies of adult salamanders. Larvae take small aquatic animals zooplankton but larger individuals will take eggs and larvae of other amphibians as well. Life cycle the marbled salamander breeds from september to october in the northern part of its range and from october to december in the southern part of its range.

All marbled salamanders have black undersides. A marbled salamander larva. Salamanders like all amphibians require water for reproduction. They eat zooplankton mainly copepods and cladocerans when they first hatch but add other prey to their diet as they grow including larger crustaceans isopods fairy shrimp aquatic insects snails oligochaete worms and the.

The larvae are dark brown or black with bushy gills and light spots the form a line on each side. 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. This is opposite from other mole salamanders that breed during early spring. Females will lay about 30 100 eggs in a depression on land usually beneath a log or leaf litter.

Marbled salamanders range from the. These pools that dry up each summer and are refilled each winter are known as vernal pools. However unlike most salamanders which lay their eggs in the winter or spring marbled salamanders lay their eggs in dried up pools in the fall. They have a long dorsal fin from the tail to just behind the front arms.

Marbled salamanders like this pregnant female found at an attleboro tennis court often must cross through yards while migrating to their breeding sites during late summer nights. Adults take terrestrial invertebrates such as worms insects centipedes and mollusks snails slugs. A marbled salamander larva. The marbled salamander mates and lays its eggs on land.

The larger larvae will also eat caterpillars and other. Recently metamorphosed individuals are brown or gray with light speckles. Marbled salamanders emerge from their underground homes in early fall to migrate to their breeding grounds. Marbled salamander larvae are also active predators and may be the dominant predators in their temporary ponds.

The larger larval marbled salamanders feed on spotted salamander larvae and wood frog tadpoles as well as zooplankton. As they grow larger they will eat tadpoles insects and other salamander larvae. The female stays with her developing eggs until rain fills the wetland and triggers.