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South Central ARMI
Guide to Louisiana Amphibians |
Spotted salamander (Ambystoma maculatum) |
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Robust, cryptic, burrowing salamander reaching 5 inches in length in Louisiana. Black, slate or bluish black dorsum is covered in with 25 to 50 yellow or orange round spots. The spots occur infrequently on each side from head to tail. Venter is slate gray. Eats worms, slugs, arthropods, and snails. Observed making mass migrations to isolated wetlands to breed during heavy rains. Breeds in early spring. Females lay up to 200 eggs in tight clusters. Clusters are attached to submerged sticks and debris. Each individual egg is covered in a membrane containing symbiotic green algae, which is thought to increase the embryo's oxygen supply. Species occurs throughout the State in pine-hardwood forests.
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U.S. Department of the Interior |
U.S. Geological Survey
