Plethodon cinereus
Red-backed Salamanders
are our most common salamander. They are easy to recognize,
with their black bodies and bright red stripe down the
middle of their backs. They can also be black without the
red stripe, but usually they have the stripe. Their bellies
are black and white. This salamander grows to
about five inches long. Copyrigh, Al
Sheldon Red-backed Salamanders
can be found under rocks, logs, moss, dead leaves, or inside
rotting stumps. When disturbed, they will crawl into tunnels
or under leaves. Unlike most salamanders,
Red-backs do not spend any part of their lives in the water.
Most salamanders have to lay their eggs in water. These lay
their eggs in a cluster, like grapes, hanging underneath a
rock or inside an old log. They are born looking like
mini-salamanders, about an inch long. Red-backed Salamanders do
not have lungs,
even though they live on land. They breathe through their
skin, which must be moist at all times. They come out from
their hiding places at night after a rain. This is when they
do most of their hunting. Red-backed Salamanders
eat small arthropods,
including insects and spiders. Female salamanders mate
every other year. When she lays eggs, she will guard them
for two months until they hatch, coiling her body around
them.
Mark Moran