Marbled Salamander Larvae

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.

Marbled salamander larvae.

Adults take terrestrial invertebrates such as worms insects centipedes and mollusks snails slugs. A marbled salamander larva. Marbled salamanders emerge from their underground homes in early fall to migrate to their breeding grounds. Females will lay about 30 100 eggs in a depression on land usually beneath a log or leaf litter.

Larvae take small aquatic animals zooplankton but larger individuals will take eggs and larvae of other amphibians as well. Recently metamorphosed individuals are brown or gray with light speckles. Salamanders like all amphibians require water for reproduction. They have a long dorsal fin from the tail to just behind the front arms.

A marbled salamander larva. All marbled salamanders have black undersides. Marbled salamanders only eat live prey. 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.

The marbled salamander is typically found in floodplains and low lying fertile areas dominated by hardwood trees. The larger larvae will also eat caterpillars and other. The larvae are dark brown or black with bushy gills and light spots the form a line on each side. The marbled salamander ambystoma opacum also called the banded salamander is a member of the mole salamander family.

The marbled salamander mates and lays its eggs on land. 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. The larger larval marbled salamanders feed on spotted salamander larvae and wood frog tadpoles as well as zooplankton. The female stays with her developing eggs until rain fills the wetland and triggers.

This is opposite from other mole salamanders that breed during early spring. The larvae of the marbled salamander are also quite voracious predators eating zooplankton upon hatching but adding more prey as they grow including aquatic insects isopods fairy shrimp snails worms and the larvae of other amphibians. These pools that dry up each summer and are refilled each winter are known as vernal pools. Marbled salamander larvae are also active predators and may be the dominant predators in their temporary ponds.

Marbled salamanders range from the. 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. 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.