Marbled Salamander
Ambystoma opacum
Conservation Status:
State Status: Apparently Secure (NatureServe, 2025)
Global Assessment: Least Concern (IUCN, 2021)
Photographed by Severin Uebbing
Description
Marbled salamanders grow up to five inches long (Watkins-Colwell, 2025). They are black with distinct white horizontal bands. This creates a marbling pattern that they get their name from. These salamanders have broad heads, stocky bodies, and stubby tails.
Habitat
These salamanders live in forests, often being found near bodies of water.
Behavior
Marbled salamanders spend most of their time underground in burrows, coming to the surface during breeding season. However they may be found hiding
under rocks, logs, or leaf litter. They eat small invertebrates like worms and insects. The breeding season is in the fall, when these salamanders will migrate to vernal pools on rainy nights. Eggs are most commonly laid on land in depressions that will soon fill with water from rain. These eggs hatch into aquatic larvae. When threatened, marbled salamanders will thrash their tail around, releasing toxins (Quinn, 2020).
Range
References
iNaturalist. (2024). Observations. California Academy of the Sciences / National Geographic Society. https://www.inaturalist.org/observations?place_id=49&taxon_id=26736.
International Union for Conservation Of Nature and Natural Resources. (2021, January 7). Marbled Salamander. https://www.iucnredlist.org/species/59065/56540581.
Klemens, M. W. et al. (2021). Conservation of Amphibians and Reptiles in Connecticut. Department of Energy and Environmental Protection. https://ctdeepstore.com/products/conservation-of-amphibians-reptiles-in-connecticut.
NatureServe. (2025, January 31). Ambystoma opacum. https://explorer.natureserve.org/Taxon/ELEMENT_GLOBAL.2.104610/Ambystoma_opacum. ​
Quinn, D. P. (2020). Marbled Salamander. Connecticut Herpetology. https://www.ctherpetology.com/marbled-salamander.
Watkins-Colwell, G. J. (2025). Marbled Salamander - Ambystoma opacum. Yale Peabody Museum. https://peabody.yale.edu/explore/collections/herpetology/guide-amphibians-reptiles-connecticut.
Watkins-Colwell, G. J. et al. (2006). New Distribution Records for Amphibians and Reptiles in Connecticut, with Notes on the Status of an Introduced Species. Sacred Heart University. https://digitalcommons.sacredheart.edu/cgi/viewcontent.cgi?article=1058&context=bio_fac.
Page updated March 2, 2025