Marbled salamander

Species of amphibian

The marbled salamander (Ambystoma opacum) is a species of mole salamander found in the eastern United States.

The marbled salamander is a stout, black and white banded salamander. It exhibits sexual dimorphism with bands of females tending to be light gray, while those of males are bright white. Males also have a larger proportion of white dorsal surface area relative to females. Females have been reported to have more asymmetrical dorsal markings, while the males have more symmetrical markings. Like all salamanders, they go through metamorphosis including an aquatic life stage. Juveniles have white flecks that eventually develop into bands as they reach adulthood. Adults can grow to about 11 cm (4 in), small compared to other members of its genus. Like most of the mole salamanders, it is secretive, spending most of its life under logs or in burrows.

Marbled salamanders are found in the eastern United States, from southern New England to northern Florida, and west to Illinois and Texas. Their habitats are damp woodlands, forests, and places with soft and wet soil. Seasonally flooded areas are essential for breeding, but the adult salamanders are terrestrial. Like many salamanders, marbled salamanders have poison glands to deter predators. The marbled salamander is the state salamander of North Carolina.

The first months that Marbled Salamanders spend living out of the water are the most important in determining how many will survive until the next breeding season. Marbled Salamanders are not strong burrowers, therefore they rely on existing holes in the ground for shelter. Marbled Salamanders in the northern portions of their range can also go into a state of torpor to survive the cold months. Adults spend most of their time in their burrows or under logs, as is the case with most mole salamanders. Juvenile marbled salamanders hatch early compared to most salamanders and gain a size advantage by feeding and growing for several months before the Jefferson salamanders and spotted salamanders hatch later in the spring. Larvae typically mature as quickly as two months in the southern part of their range, but take up to six months to mature in the northern part. Marbled salamanders, like other members of this genus, are reported to have relatively long life spans, 8–10 years or more.

Marbled salamanders will migrate to seasonal pond basins in the late summer and early fall where they will court and deposit eggs. Courtship of this species takes place on land. The males will compete by butting heads and blocking another male’s movement with its tail. When courting the female, a male will nudge the vent of a female with its snout, with the intent that the female will respond in kind. This back and forth nudging has the appearance of a dance as the two salamanders circle around one another. This display culminates with the male depositing a spermatophore and the female moving to take it into her cloaca. The female will then lay between 50 and 200 eggs, often remaining with them until the nest floods. One fairly unique parental care behavioral characteristic of Marbled Salamanders is that when the mothers stay with their eggs, wrapping their bodies around the eggs to form a bowl shape to collect water over the eggs. Water must make extended contact with the eggs in order for them to begin hatching. However, it has been observed that females may abandon their eggs before flooding occurs. Female Marbled Salamanders have a very low attachment to their eggs, and they will abandon their nest after a disturbance. This often occurs when their natal pond has a small population that may not have a large selection of mates.

Adults feed on terrestrial invertebrates, such as worms, insects, centipedes, other arthropods, and mollusks (snails, slugs). Larvae feed on small aquatic animals (zooplankton, mainly copepods and cladocerans), but larger individuals will eat larger crustaceans (isopods, fairy shrimp), aquatic insects, snails, oligochaete worms,

When A. opacum is under attack by a predator, they often exhibit tail lashing, head butting, body coiling, or potentially becoming immobile. These defensive moves are thought to draw attention to the tail, which has granular glands that produce noxious secretions to protect themselves. While some predators have learned to eat the body of Marbled Salamanders and leave the tail, this is still a deterrent for many predators. A problem with the granular glands Marbled Salamanders possess is that secretions are reduced after multiple attacks, making them more vulnerable.

Marbled salamanders have been found to exhibit prominent biofluorescence under ultraviolet excitation along the bones in their digits and in the cloacal region of both males and females. The also have mucus like secretions that florescence green. It is theorized that biofluorescence may aid in sexual selection, mimicry, camouflage, and communication.