Species
Carolina swamp dusky salamander
Desmognathus valtos
A dark dusky salamander of Coastal Plain swamps, recently recognised as a species of its own.
Photo Matthew Lumsden (opens in a new tab) / iNaturalist, CC BY 4.0 (opens in a new tab)
At a glance
- Size
- Usually 7 to 13 cm long
- Habitat
- Swamps, blackwater floodplains and mucky seeps
- Diet
- Small invertebrates
- In Georgia
- The eastern Coastal Plain; rarely seen
- Rabies vector
- No
Identification
- Key marks
- Dark brown to black with a row of pale spots along each side
- Told apart from
- Holbrook's southern dusky salamander by where it lives
- Where to look
- Under logs in swamps
Behaviour
It lives in the muck and leaf litter of swamps and hunts at night.
Why they matter
Swamp-dwelling dusky salamanders have vanished from many places where they were once common, for reasons not yet understood.
Reproduction and lifecycle
Eggs — Laid near water and guarded by the female
Hatching — In one to two months
Larvae — Aquatic for several months
Maturity — At a few years
Lifespan — Several years
Breathing — Through the skin; no lungs
Living around people
- Swamps and floodplains left undrained are what it needs.
Misconceptions
- Swamps are wasteland. They are home to animals found nowhere else.
Related species
Seasonal activity
When this species is breeding, and when there are nests on the ground. Mowing during the shaded months is how most nests are found.
| Jan | Feb | Mar | Apr | May | Jun | Jul | Aug | Sep | Oct | Nov | Dec | |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| Breeding | Jan: no | Feb: no | Mar: no | Apr: no | May: no | Jun: no | Jul: no | Aug: no | Sep: no | Oct: no | Nov: no | Dec: no |
| Active nests | Jan: no | Feb: no | Mar: no | Apr: no | May: no | Jun: no | Jul: no | Aug: no | Sep: no | Oct: no | Nov: no | Dec: no |
| Notes | Active on mild nights | Active | Active | Active | Active | Active | Active | Laying eggs | Females guarding eggs | Larvae hatching | Active | Active on mild nights |
Where it lives
Recorded in 3 states and provinces. Each one links to the other animals there, and to the rehabilitators licensed for them.
United States
If you found one
Answer a few questions and you will get a specific answer for what you are looking at.
I found an animal