Species
Holbrook's southern dusky salamander
Desmognathus auriculatus
A dark swamp salamander with pale side spots that has disappeared from much of its old range.
Photo Caudatejake (opens in a new tab) / Wikimedia Commons, CC BY-SA 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 southern Coastal Plain; rare
- Rabies vector
- No
Identification
- Key marks
- Dark brown to black with a row of whitish spots along each side
- Told apart from
- Carolina swamp dusky salamander by where it lives
- Where to look
- Almost never seen now
Behaviour
It lives in the muck and leaf litter of swamps and hunts at night.
Why they matter
It was once common in Coastal Plain swamps but has disappeared from many sites since the 1970s, for reasons still not 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
- A species that was common cannot disappear. This one has, from many places.
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 2 states and provinces. Each one links to the other animals there, and to the rehabilitators licensed for them.
If you found one
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