Northern Dusky Salamander

Description:

Northern Dusky Salamanders are variable in color and pattern. They usually have a reddish-brown, wavy bordered stripe down the back. Their belly is cream-colored and usually sprinkled with gray or brown flecks. Adults reach about 5 inches and have a dorsal keel on the tail. Juveniles have 5 to 8 pairs of reddish dots along the edges of the back between the front and hind legs. Courtship usually takes place in late May. Females deposit a cluster of eggs on the underside of rocks or in stream banks and remain with the eggs until they hatch in the late summer. Newly hatched Northern Dusky salamanders have gills and will remain in these small pools at the edges of streams until they transform into the adult form sometime the following spring. Adults can be found under logs along the edges of the streams. The main diet of the Northern Dusky Salamander is earthworms, snails, slugs, soft insects, larvae, mites, spiders and other small salamanders.

Habitat:

These stream salamanders are most abundant in streams, seeps, and springs. Individuals may be encountered under rocks and other surface cover and occasionally in burrows along stream banks.