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Description: Slimy Salamanders were once considered one
species (P. glutinosus) but have recently been split into
13 separate species. They all look similar and are best differentiated
by range. Slimy salamanders are large salamanders, reaching
6.75 in (17 cm), with blackish-blue color and scattered
silvery-white or gold spots all over their body. Its tail
is round and its venter is grayish black or slightly lighter than
the dorsum. The Slimy salamander gets its name from the slimy
secretions it produces when threatened, which stick like glue
and are hard to get off. They have approximately 16 costal grooves.
Range and Habitat: Slimy Salamanders are found throughout
eastern North America, except for southern Florida, including
all of South Carolina and Georgia. This salamander lives in moist,
undisturbed woodlands and moist wooded ravines.
Habits: Slimy Salamanders prefer to stay under logs, stones,
debris, or in burrows during the day and come out on moist nights
forage for invertebrate prey. During the breeding season male
adult Slimy Salamanders, unlike females, have a large mental gland
on the chin, which they use to stimulate the female. They breed
annually, depositing about 6-36 eggs under logs or dirt in the
summer or early fall. These eggs will usually hatch around October
and young do not have an aquatic larval stage. They mature in
about 3 years.
Conservation Status: Slimy Salamanders are common throughout
their range and are not protected in our region or Federally.
Pertinent References:
Petranka, James W. 1998. Salamanders of the United States
and Canada. Smithsonian Institute Press, Washington.
Jaeger, Robert G., Joseph, Raymond G., Barnard, Debra E. 1981.
Foraging tactics of a terrestrial salamander: sustained yields
in territories. Animal Behavior 29(4): 1100-1105
Account Author: Anna Tarter, University of Georgia - revised
by J.D. Willson
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