Thursday, April 7, 2011

Red-backed Salamander


Date Found: April 6, 2011

Common Name: Red-backed Salamander

Scientific Name: Plethodon cinereus

Found: This salamander was in the same place as the Black Salamander. In the back yard under a wet log and leaves that were left from Fall.

FUN FACTS:

This salamander grows to about five inches long.

Red-backed Salamanders lay their eggs in a cluster, like grapes, hanging underneath a rock or inside an old log. They are born looking like mini-salamanders, about an inch long.

Like the Black Salamander, the Red-backed Salamander has no lungs and breathes through its skin which must remain wet or moist at all times. It comes out after it rains to hunt for its food. They eat arthropods (animals with exoskeletons, jointed legs, and segmented bodies).

Salamanders help plants when they tunnel through the dirt, because it breaks up and mixes up the soil which allows the plants to get the nutrients easier.

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