© Bruce McNitt/Panoramic Images (Virginia)
Mole Salamander
Characteristics
This species has 10 grooves on its sides and the body is short and stout. It is deep brown above in a broad dorsal band, and lighter on the tail. There are many small dull bluish-white flecks aggregated in lichen-like patches. The lower sides are gray with light markings forming blotches. The length is up to 97 mm. The head appears disproportionately large and is wider near the corner of the mouth. The snout is broadly rounded.
Adult mole salamanders somewhat resemble Mabee's salamander; however Mabee's salamander has 13 costal grooves and a relatively smaller head. Adults migrate to water to breed in late fall or early winter and then return to land the following spring. The breeding period is early December to mid-February. The adults are terrestrial and fossorial, except during the breeding season.
Distribution
This species is known from sites within Virginia in Charlotte, Campbell, and Appomattox counties.
Habitat
The adults are terrestrial except during the breeding season. This species is reported to use burrows in pine savannas, hardwood forests, swamps, floodplains and flatwoods with suitable breeding ponds. Unique habitat associations include downed logs, vernal pools and freshwater wetlands.
Foods
The diet of the adult is not known, but presumably consists of earthworms and insects.
More Information
Go to the Map
Use the interactive map to zoom smoothly from a national view to state and local perspectives anywhere across the country.
