Northern Slimy Salamander

Adults: Medium-sized plethodon with round tail same length as body or slightly longer. Blue-black with scattered white spots or flecks on back, sides, legs, and tail. Undersides black or blackish-gray with occasional light flecks. Widest part of snout is directly behind eyes. When handled roughly this salamander will excrete a mucous, especially from the tail, that is rather difficult to wipe off. Juveniles may lack spots.

Eggs: Gelatinous mass deposited on land.

Distribution: Well distributed in undisturbed woodland areas throughout southern NY and Pennsylvania.

Habitat: Fairly extensive tracts of moist, closed-canopy forests, usually associated with rocky outcrops, streams, and steep topography. Occasionally found in more open habitats, but avoid seasonally flooded lowland forest.

Ecology: Often found wandering the forest floor at night or on rainy days. Slimy skin secretions provide protection from predators. Abundant on wooded hillsides in the spring, retreating to more mesic environments (e.g. ravine bottoms) during the summer. Found under rocks, logs, and leaf litter.

Reproduction: Mate in the fall, but eggs are not laid until the following spring or summer. Eggs are suspended in a cluster in a cavity under a rock, within a hollow log, or in an underground burrow, and are attended by the female. The eggs hatch in late summer or fall. The larval period is spent within the egg. Newly hatched slimy salamanders are terrestrial.