Spring Salamander

Fascinating facts about the Spring Salamander

• The genus name Gyrinophilus translates to "tadpole lover", a nod to the unusually prolonged gilled stage of this salamander. After hatching the young remain fully aquatic, breathing through gills and living in streams for many years. In some individuals this larval period can extend to four years before they finally metamorphose into terrestrial adults.
• In the North Carolina mountains spring salamanders specialise in eating other salamanders, with studies showing that between 40 and 50 % of an adult's diet can be comprised of conspecifics or related species. Their menu includes smaller stream-dwelling salamanders such as two-lined, dusky, pygmy and red-backed forms. They also practice cannibalism, preying on younger members of their own species when the opportunity arises.
• Spring salamander larvae can remain in water for several years, with some individuals staying in the larval stage for as long as four years before undergoing metamorphosis. After shedding their gills they become terrestrial juveniles but still require considerable time to grow; it takes roughly another four years after metamorphosis for them to reach sexual maturity. This extended development means they may not reproduce until eight years after hatching.
• Where brook trout share streams with spring salamanders, the salamanders' growth can be curtailed by up to ninety percent, severely limiting their size development. Fish are the main predators of this species, and brook trout in particular have been shown to cut salamander survival by more than half when fingerlings are present, with an even larger impact from adult fish.

Sources

Every fact above was checked against these pages, and kept only where one of them states it.

• Wikipedia

At a glance

More reptiles to discover

Browse Feravox