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Northern Dusky Salamander By Brian Taylor Desmognathus fuscus is commonly called the Northern Dusky Salamander. It is in the Plethodontidae family, which means it, is a lung-less salamander that breathes though its skin. The dusky salamander can grow in length up to 5 inches and can be as short as 2 ˝ inches. The back of the adult is either brown or gray with a reddish stripe. The juveniles have 5 to 8 pairs of red spots that form their stripe when they become adults. Their underside is usually gray or brown. Their color changes to a darker shade as they age. The habitat of the Northern Dusky Salamander is in damp areas under leaves, rocks, and logs near streams. They range from New Brunswick down to Central Kentucky and western South Carolina. The salamanders are more active at night and hide under objects during the day. They are also excellent burrowers and will dig tunnels in stream banks for a quick escape from predators. Their slimy coating makes it difficult for some predators to hold them. The main diet of the Northern Dusky Salamander is earthworms, snails, slugs, soft insects, larvae, mites, spiders and other small salamanders. Reproduction of the dusky salamander takes place in the same location as the rest of their lives. The male will drop spermatophores, packages of sperm on a leaf near a pool or stream in June and August and the female will pick them up with her the lips of her cloaca, her sexual opening. The female will lay one or two dozen pale yellow eggs that stay together in a cluster for 6 to 13 weeks. The female will stay with the eggs and protect them until they hatch. The nests are usually located under logs and stones near a pool or stream. In late summer and early fall the hatchlings go to the pool and reside under rocks and leaves until they mature. The male matures at around two years and the female around three years. Written fall 2000, as a service learning project for Dr. Gary Coté's Biology 102 class at Radford University. Copyright Pathways for Radford. |
