Four-toed Salamander

Imagine my surprise when I went to pick up a plastic garbage bag while hiking in a relatively remote forest and found this gorgeous, white-bellied salamander overwintering underneath it. I thought this salamander deserved a better spot to overwinter, so I gently placed it under a rotting log that I found less than a foot away from the plastic bag.

Four-toed salamanders have a porcelain white belly with small, black spots scattered about the venter. The dorsal surface is brown-yellow. They have unique four-toed feet. Also, at the base of their tail, they have an obvious constriction where it can detach and then be regenerated. This detachment is voluntarily, which is another unique feature of this salamander since most salamanders must be grasped in order for their tails to come off. Additionally, when detached, their tails will continue to wiggle, possibly distracting predators. This salamander was 5cm long, and over 50% of that length was it's tail.

The four-toed salamander is in a state of decline throughout its range due to its specialized habitat requirements in addition to habitat destruction and degradation. Research has shown that they are very important contributors to nutrient cycling in forest ecosystems, and therefore, they play an important role in the health and balance of forest systems. Finding this beautiful creature under a plastic bag in a remote forest is a sad, yet significant reminder of the extent of the human footprint in nature.