marbled salamander

Ambystoma opacum

Summary 7

The marbled salamander (Ambystoma opacum) is a species of mole salamander found in the eastern United States.

Description 8

This salamander is sexually dimorphic. Both males and females have black dorsal ground coloring; the bands on the female are gray or silver, while those on the male are white. The sides and the venter are black as well. They are generally short-tailed, stocky, and broad-headed (Bartlett & Bartlett 1999).

A. opacum is the most strongly dimorphic of the ambystomatids. They are capable of burrowing, but they prefer to remain closer to the surface except for seasons of extended drought (Bartlett & Bartlett 1999).

Conservation actions 9

Conservation Actions

Needed conservation measures include protection of vernal pools and adjacent wooded areas up to at least 200-250m from the pools. Also, regulatory agencies should attempt to minimize forest fragmentation.

Sources and Credits

  1. (c) Patrick Coin, some rights reserved (CC BY-NC-SA), http://www.flickr.com/photos/42264328@N00/361937330
  2. (c) 2007 Frank Teigler, some rights reserved (CC BY-NC), http://calphotos.berkeley.edu/cgi/img_query?seq_num=227841&one=T
  3. (c) Todd Pierson, some rights reserved (CC BY-NC-SA), http://farm3.static.flickr.com/2789/4157723123_a49971edbd.jpg
  4. (c) 2012 Todd Pierson, some rights reserved (CC BY-NC), http://calphotos.berkeley.edu/cgi/img_query?seq_num=411099&one=T
  5. (c) 2012 Todd Pierson, some rights reserved (CC BY-NC), http://calphotos.berkeley.edu/cgi/img_query?seq_num=411100&one=T
  6. (c) 2007 Frank Teigler, some rights reserved (CC BY-NC), http://calphotos.berkeley.edu/cgi/img_query?seq_num=227840&one=T
  7. Adapted by Marie Studer from a work by (c) Wikipedia, some rights reserved (CC BY-SA), http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Ambystoma_opacum
  8. (c) AmphibiaWeb © 2000-2011 The Regents of the University of California, some rights reserved (CC BY), http://eol.org/data_objects/23849566
  9. (c) International Union for Conservation of Nature and Natural Resources, some rights reserved (CC BY-NC-SA), http://eol.org/data_objects/27992916

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