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Animal profile

Marbled Salamander

Ambystoma opacum

AmphibiaDry to moist deciduous woodland with seasonal pool basinsLeast Concern

Field profile

The marbled salamander is a stocky mole salamander around 9 to 12 centimetres long, black with bold white or silver crossbands. Unlike its relatives it breeds in autumn on dry ground. It spends most of the year in burrows and under logs in woodland near vernal pool basins.

Scope note

This is an editorial profile, not a diagnostic field-identification guide or a substitute for current conservation assessments. Follow the cited sources on each fact for the evidence trail.

Published field notes

2025-01-12

Marbled Salamander

Marbled salamanders lay eggs in a dry pond

While other mole salamanders wait for spring rain, the marbled salamander breeds in autumn on the bare floor of an empty pool basin. The female guards her eggs on land until rising water floods them and triggers hatching.

Read with evidence →

Marbled Salamander | Daily Animal Facts