Red-backed Salamander

Adults: Small and slender with tiny legs. Uniformly dark above (lead-backed phase) or with a narrow orange or red middorsal stripe (red-backed phase). Middorsal stripe usually with straight-edged margins, narrowing slightly on the base of the tail. Undersides mottled with black and white pigment, giving a ìsalt-and pepperî effect.

Habitat: Under rocks and logs on moist wooded hillsides and ravines. Retreat underground or to more mesic environments during the summer.

Ecology: Possible to most abundant vertebrate in many eastern forests. May defend small temporary home ranges against conspecifics and other salamander species, especially when food resources are scarce.

Reproduction: Breeding takes place in winter through early spring. Eggs are laid in early summer in underground cavities or in rotting logs or stumps, and are suspended by a gelatinous stalk from the top of the chamber in a small cluster. The female remains with the eggs until they hatch, usually after one month. The young are terrestrial (although they hatch with rudimentary gills), and may remain with the female for several days or weeks.