Nature Note: the Marbled Salamander
By Joe Settles

It’s a nasty fall day – its windy, spitting rain, and the leaves are falling off the trees. Instead of grabbing a book and a warm spot - grab a sweatshirt, put on an old pair of boots, and head out hunting for marbled salamanders (Ambystoma opacum).

Nothing gets a marbled salamanders juices flowing like fall weather. The males and females move to woodland ponds on rainy nights in September and October. The male then puts on the old charm, and breeding occurs on land near the ponds. The female deposits 70 – 150 eggs in a depression near the waters edge. The female will guard the eggs until autumn rains fill up the pond and cover the eggs with water. The eggs hatch and the larval salamanders spend the winter in the pond feeding on a variety of little critters. Metamorphosis occurs around mid-May to early June, when the little marble salamanders make their way back to the forest floor.

Marbled salamanders get their name from their unique coloration. They are primarily black with whitish/grayish markings on the back. Sexes can be determined during the breeding season by coloration. Males have bright, white markings and the females have grayish markings. Marbled salamanders can be found statewide in wooded habitats. Look around the edges of woodland ponds under logs or in the leaf litter in September or October, and you may find one of these awesome critters. Good luck!

Joe Settles is a biologist with Kentucky’s Touchstone Energy Cooperatives