Species
Ocmulgee slimy salamander
Plethodon ocmulgee
A slimy salamander found only in Georgia, in the ravines and bottomland forests of the inner Coastal Plain.
Photo Caudatejake (opens in a new tab) / Wikimedia Commons, CC BY-SA 4.0 (opens in a new tab)
At a glance
- Size
- Usually 11 to 16 cm long
- Habitat
- Moist hardwood ravines and bottomland forests
- Diet
- Small invertebrates
- In Georgia
- The Coastal Plain of central and east-central Georgia; found nowhere else
- Rabies vector
- No
Identification
- Key marks
- Black with small white or silver flecks, often thickest on the sides
- Told apart from
- Other slimy salamanders by where it lives
- Where to look
- Under logs in shady ravines
Behaviour
It lives in moist forest leaf litter and rotting logs, surfacing on wet nights to hunt.
Why they matter
Every one of these salamanders lives in Georgia. The shady ravines of the inner Coastal Plain are its whole world.
Reproduction and lifecycle
Eggs — Laid in moist cavities and guarded by the female
Hatching — As tiny copies of the adults
Young — No aquatic stage
Maturity — At a few years
Lifespan — Many years
Breathing — Through the skin; no lungs
Living around people
- Its ravines need their shade and fallen wood.
Misconceptions
- Georgia's animals are all found elsewhere too. This one lives only in Georgia.
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 wet nights | Active on wet nights | Active | Active | Active | Laying eggs | Underground in dry weather | Underground in dry weather | Young hatching | Active on wet nights | Active on wet nights | Active on mild nights |
Where it lives
Recorded in one state or province. Each one links to the other animals there, and to the rehabilitators licensed for them.
United States
If you found one
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