The northern slimy salamander (''Plethodon glutinosus'') is a

species In biology, a species is the basic unit of classification and a taxonomic rank of an organism, as well as a unit of biodiversity. A species is often defined as the largest group of organisms in which any two individuals of the appropriat ...

terrestrial Terrestrial refers to things related to land or the planet Earth. Terrestrial may also refer to: * Terrestrial animal, an animal that lives on land opposed to living in water, or sometimes an animal that lives on or near the ground, as opposed to ...

plethodontid Plethodontidae, or lungless salamanders, are a family of salamanders. Most species are native to the Western Hemisphere, from British Columbia to Brazil, although a few species are found in Sardinia, Europe south of the Alps, and South Korea. In ...

salamander Salamanders are a group of amphibians typically characterized by their lizard-like appearance, with slender bodies, blunt snouts, short limbs projecting at right angles to the body, and the presence of a tail in both larvae and adults. All t ...

found throughout much of the eastern two-thirds of the United States.

Common names

The northern slimy salamander is called "slimy" because it produces sticky slime from glands on its lower back and tail in order to defend itself from predators. It is also sometimes referred to as the viscid salamander, grey-spotted salamander, slippery salamander, or sticky salamander, depending on which source is consulted.

Description

The northern slimy salamander is typically an overall black in color, with numerous silvery spots or gold spots across its back. It is usually in total length (including tail), but can grow to 20.6 cm (8.1 in). Males are not easily distinguished from females, though females tend to be slightly larger. It has 15-17

costal groove The rib cage, as an enclosure that comprises the ribs, vertebral column and sternum in the thorax of most vertebrates, protects vital organs such as the heart, lungs and great vessels. The sternum, together known as the thoracic cage, is a semi-r ...

Taxonomy

''P. glutinosus'' is one of 57 species in the

genus Genus ( plural genera ) is a taxonomic rank used in the biological classification of living and fossil organisms as well as viruses. In the hierarchy of biological classification, genus comes above species and below family. In binomial nom ...

''Plethodon'' and was one of the first of its cogeners to be described. The Northern Slimy Salamander is one of 14 species within the ''Plethodon glutinosus'' complex. Species within this complex are very similar but vary in habitat range, body size, shape, and proportions.

Geographic range

''P. glutinosus'' is found from

New York New York most commonly refers to: * New York City, the most populous city in the United States, located in the state of New York * New York (state), a state in the northeastern United States New York may also refer to: Film and television * '' ...

, west to

Illinois Illinois ( ) is a state in the Midwestern United States. Its largest metropolitan areas include the Chicago metropolitan area, and the Metro East section, of Greater St. Louis. Other smaller metropolitan areas include, Peoria and Rock ...

, south to

Mississippi Mississippi () is a state in the Southeastern region of the United States, bordered to the north by Tennessee; to the east by Alabama; to the south by the Gulf of Mexico; to the southwest by Louisiana; and to the northwest by Arkansas. Miss ...

, and east to

Alabama (We dare defend our rights) , anthem = " Alabama" , image_map = Alabama in United States.svg , seat = Montgomery , LargestCity = Huntsville , LargestCounty = Baldwin County , LargestMetro = Greater Birmingham , area_total_km2 = 135,7 ...

, with isolated populations in southern

New Hampshire New Hampshire is a U.S. state, state in the New England region of the northeastern United States. It is bordered by Massachusetts to the south, Vermont to the west, Maine and the Gulf of Maine to the east, and the Canadian province of Quebec t ...

and northwestern

Connecticut Connecticut () is the southernmost state in the New England region of the Northeastern United States. It is bordered by Rhode Island to the east, Massachusetts to the north, New York (state), New York to the west, and Long Island Sound to the ...

Habitat

''P. glutinosus'' is highly associated with moist undisturbed woodlands, and ravines. The salamander is typically located on the underside of debris such as logs and stones during the day. ''P. glutinosus'' will emerge from debris on moist nights. They can be found in areas of secondary succession in old growth deciduous or hemlock forests with steep, rocky slopes. They prefer hiding under rotten logs and in decomposed organic matter like layers of duff on the forest floor. They can typically be found near a water source or in a moist areas.

Life history and behavior

Behavior

All plethodontid salamanders are territorial, and fight aggressively for territory. Their preferred

habitat In ecology, the term habitat summarises the array of resources, physical and biotic factors that are present in an area, such as to support the survival and reproduction of a particular species. A species habitat can be seen as the physical ...

is in moist soil or leaf litter beneath stones, rotting logs, or other debris near a permanent water source. They sometimes make use of other animals' burrows. Their

diet Diet may refer to: Food * Diet (nutrition), the sum of the food consumed by an organism or group * Dieting, the deliberate selection of food to control body weight or nutrient intake ** Diet food, foods that aid in creating a diet for weight loss ...

consists primarily of

ant Ants are eusocial insects of the family Formicidae and, along with the related wasps and bees, belong to the order Hymenoptera. Ants evolved from vespoid wasp ancestors in the Cretaceous period. More than 13,800 of an estimated total of ...

beetle Beetles are insects that form the order Coleoptera (), in the superorder Endopterygota. Their front pair of wings are hardened into wing-cases, elytra, distinguishing them from most other insects. The Coleoptera, with about 400,000 describ ...

s, sow bugs, and earthworms, but they will consume most kinds of

insect Insects (from Latin ') are pancrustacean hexapod invertebrates of the class Insecta. They are the largest group within the arthropod phylum. Insects have a chitinous exoskeleton, a three-part body ( head, thorax and abdomen), three pa ...

. As their name suggests, slimy salamanders produce significant amounts of skin secretions that are highy adhesive. These adhesives bind to predators and can compromise both mastication and locomotion.

Reproduction

Females reach sexual maturity in the second year of life and do not lay eggs until the third year. Breeding of ''P. glutinosus'' takes place in the spring and is terrestrial. Courtship consists of the males performing a sort of dance to attract the females' attention. Females lay clutches of four to 12

eggs Humans and human ancestors have scavenged and eaten animal eggs for millions of years. Humans in Southeast Asia had domesticated chickens and harvested their eggs for food by 1,500 BCE. The most widely consumed eggs are those of fowl, especial ...

in a moist area, which she guards, often neglecting food for the period until they hatch. Hatchlings emerge from the eggs in about three months, having no aquatic stage, like many other salamander species. They instead develop directly into their entirely terrestrial adult form. After hatching, young individuals show high growth rates during the summer months and little to no growth during the winter.

Diet

Not much is known about the diet of the slimy salamanders, but it is believed that the species exhibit opportunistic feeding strategies where they consume prey that is easily accessible. One study surveyed the digestive systems of this species and found that ants, bees, wasps, beetles, sowbugs, snails, and earthworms occurred most frequently.https://animaldiversity.org/accounts/Plethodon_glutinosus/

References

External links

Animal Diversity Web: ''Plethodon glutinosus''Amphibian Species of the World: ''Plethodon glutinosus''Caudata Culture Species Entry: ''Plethodon'' Complex