Red-backed Salamander

This salamander was truly dirty - it even had dirt stuck to its eyeballs.

It had a blackish brown body with an orange-red stripe down the middle of its back. It's belly was black and white. This salamander was about 8 cm long.

The red-backed salamander exhibits color polymorphism with two common color variations - the 'red-backed' variety has a red dorsal stripe that tapers towards the tail and the 'lead-backed' variety lacks most or all of the red pigmentation. The red-backed phase is not always red, but may actually be various other colors (yellow-backed, orange-backed, or white-backed)

comments (3)

Ferdy Christant

Lion

You think it was in trouble? Posted 7 years ago
1. Christine Young
  
  Lion
  
  I don't think so...I found it under a log with another salamander of the same species (lead-backed color variation). I gently picked them up to show my kids and then put them back :). They seemed fine, just cold and dirty - which I guess is normal when you live in the dirt. I often find this species covered in debris because it's skin is wetter than other salamander species that I find, so everything sticks to them. They are difficult to get good shots of since all the dirt and schmutz messes with the focus. You know how annoying it is to have something in your eye though?! I would be twitching if I had all that dirt stuck to my eyeballs. Good thing I'm not a salamander. Posted 7 years ago
2. 1. Ferdy Christant
    
    Lion
    
    I have contacts, used to things in my eyes and poking them. Not dirt though :) Posted 7 years ago

The Red-backed salamander

The red-backed salamander is a species of small, hardy woodland salamander in the family Plethodontidae. The species inhabits wooded slopes in eastern North America, west to Missouri, south to North Carolina, and north from southern Quebec and the Maritime provinces in Canada to Minnesota.

Info 38 0

Similar species: Salamanders

Species identified by Christine Young