A Guide to the Amphibians
and Reptiles of California

Salamander Behavior and Natural History

Click on a picture for a larger view

Defense	Feeding Behavior	Movement
Reproduction	Predators	Miscellaneous Observations

This is the fun stuff - pictures and videos that illustrate interesting behaviors and features of some of the salamanders shown throughout this web site. Follow the links on the name of each species to find more pictures and information about it. I will keep adding pictures as I get them.
Defense

When they feel threatened by another animal, Rough-skinned Newts sometimes assume a defensive posture called an Unkenreflex. They arch their backs and tails, raising their head to expose a brightly colored underside which signals that they are poisonous to eat. This response is often triggered when they are picked up or when their back is touched. The video on the right shows a newt assuming its defensive posture.

A Sierra Newt in a defensive pose.	A California Newts assuming a defensive pose.

Be careful when handling Arboreal Salamanders. They have sharp teeth and aren't afraid to use them! Mike Spencer found it, Val Johnson took the pictures, and Shannon Hoss inadvertently donated some of his blood when he picked up this toothy beast in Mendocino County. © Val Johnson

Northwestern Salamanders with white secretions. Northwestern Salamanders have parotoid glands on their heads, backs and tails. When they are threatened, they put their head down in a defensive posture and release a white poisonous fluid from these glands. Sometimes they will butt their head and lash their tail to smear the poison on an attacker. This poison can kill or sicken small animals and causes skin irritation in some people.		A Larch Mountain Salamander sitting on a rock becomes alarmed and runs while quickly writhing its body back and forth until it rolls itself into a ball and rolls down off the rock where it bounces off another rock and springs and rolls again until it lands safely. This amazing escape behavior, developed as a defense for survival on steep rocky slopes, is shown in real time, then slowed down for a better look.

Painted Ensatina	Oregon Ensatina	Yellow-eyed Ensatina
When threatened, Ensatina assume a defensive pose with their bodies raised up off the ground and their tails elevated. They release a white poisonous fluid from glands on their tail and head.


When a salamander is feeling threatened, it will sometimes drop its tail. This is referred to as caudal autotomy. Once removed from the body, the tail will wiggle frantically for several minutes, distracting a predator long enough for the salamander to crawl away slowly, or to remain still enough that it is no longer visible to the enemy. In the first four pictures of the series above, an adult Greenhorn Mountains Slender Salamander was photographed as it was writhing about, shaking its tail rapidly, until it finally broke off and continued wiggling on its own. The end of the detached tail is also shown above. The flash stopped the motion of the salamander making it look like it is sitting still, but it was moving back and forth rapidly. This tail detachment does not harm the salamander. It will survive and grow a new tail, but the salamander is at a disadvantage since it has lost an important defense mechanism, as well as energy stored in the tail, and any perceived size advantage it may have had in protecting its territory or attracting a mate. Always handle salamanders (and lizards) carefully and avoid stressing an animal to prevent the tail from breaking off.

	In this video as I lift a fallen branch with a Gregarious Slender Salamander underneath it, the salamander's tail comes off and begins wriggling on the ground. This is a defensive tactic used to distract a predator towards the moving tail and away from the animal which remains still. The salamander may have intentionally released its tail here, or it could have just been a result of lifting the log. I pick up the tail and you can see an edited version of it slowly wriggling to a stop.
Feeding Behavior

Max Kelley found this adult California Giant Salamander eating a large rodent, possibly a Wood Rat, one late November day. In this picture, only the rodent's long tail is still visible. © Max Kelley	Nancy Gribler discovered this large adult California Giant Salamander eating a Banana Slug one night in her back yard. © Nancy Gribler	Suzanne Cogen © found this California Giant Salamander eating a Banana Slug at 3 PM in mid December in Sonoma County.

An adult Central Long-toed Salamander eats an earthworm.

Several breeding adult Rough-skinned Newts in a breeding pond, lunge at the eggs of another amphibian, probably Northwestern Salamander or Western Long-toed Salamander eggs. It looks like they are trying to eat the eggs, but it does not appear that they are succeeding.

	In this video, California Tiger Salamander larvae swim around a murky pool, rising to the surface for a gulp of air and to try to eat Sierran Treefrog tadpoles, with no success.
Movement

Rough-skinned Newts move around the rocky shallow margins of a river, occasionally coming up for air.	In this short video, a Barred Tiger Salamander crosses a wet road on a rainy summer night in Arizona.	This video shows an Arizona Tiger Salamander crossing a road on a rainy summer night in the mountains of Arizona.

Some salamanders lay eggs on land and the young are born as miniature versions of the adults. Others, like the Southern Long-toed Salamander, lay eggs in water. The young hatch as tiny swimming fish-like creatures, with gills and a large fin-like tail. As you can see in this short video, they eventually develop legs. One day, these aquatic larvae will lose their gills and walk onto the land, using lungs to breathe instead of gills.	Thios video shows a Western Long-toed Salamander crawling into the breeding pond on a cold February night in King County, Washington,	Western Long-toed Salamanders swim around underwater at night in a breeding pond during the breeding season in early February.

In this video, a Sierra Newt crosses a road in the afternoon in Fresno County.	This video shows some Sierra Newts in motion.	In this video, male Sierra Newts move around a shallow breeding pool in the Sierra Nevada foothills in early March.
Reproduction and Young

Adult male Northwestern Salamander found in a pond with many eggs during the breeding season. Here you can see the swollen vent typical of breeding males.	A Northwestern Salamander egg mass.	Several Northwestern Salamander egg masses in a pond.

A big ball of California Newts forms in the breeding pond when a male and female in amplexus are approached by several male newts who want to take the female.	Male and female California Newts in amplexus in the breeding pond. The males hold on tight and swim around the pond using their huge tails. One uses the toes on his hind feet to stroke a female, probably to make her receptive to take his spermatophore.	Views of a large mass of female California Newts in the breeding pond, as they go about laying and securing their eggs.

A video of Red-bellied Newts at their breeding creek in the redwood forest in Mendocino County.	In this video, Male Red-bellied Newts walking around a creek at the beginning of the breeding season, waiting for females to arrive.	This video shows two male Red-bellied Newts trying to steal a female away from a male in amplexus with her, but they do not succeed.

Adult Red-bellied Newt with a single egg. © Jessica Miller - Livingunderworld.org	A mass of breeding Red-bellied Newts. © Jessica Miller - Livingunderworld.org	Red-bellied Newts amplexing underwater

Rough-skinned Newts lay their eggs individually on submerged vegetation. © 2004 William Leonard	A mating ball of Rough-skinned Newts © Steven Krause	During the breeding season, adult male Rough-skinned Newts develop nuptial pads on the toes to improve their ability to hold onto females during amplexus. Compare with the toes of a breeding female without these pads.

On August 2nd, this adult Sierra Nevada Ensatina was discovered brooding approximately 10 eggs inside a rotting log of a fallen Giant Sequoia. © Ricky Grubb	California Newt egg sacs

On August 3rd, Joe Garcia found these intergrade Ensatinas attending their eggs under a board underneath a house in Monterey County. You can see here that female Ensatinas stay with their eggs to protect them until they hatch. © Joe Garcia

On September 19th, Joe returned to the crawl space, looked under the board, and found that most of the eggs of one female had just hatched, with at least 10 hatchlings still next to the eggs. © Joe Garcia

Two days later, all of the eggs of both females had hatched and the juveniles were still with the females. © Joe Garcia

California Newts egg sacs in shallow pond water.	Part of a group of hundreds of adult male California Newts that were observed during their journey to a breeding pond as they slowly crawled up the shallow outflow from the overflowing pond. Their bodies had already undergone the change to live an aquatic existence, with smooth skin and flattened tails for swimming.	California Newts in amplexus.

Female California Newt grasping onto underwater vegetation preparing to lay eggs	FemaleCalifornia Newt with egg sacs.	Female California Newt laying her eggs underwater and attaching them to vegetation.

A congregation of breeding adult California Newts under water with many egg sacs.	A recently-hatched aquatic Coast Range Newt larva.	The same Coast Range Newt larva a month later.

The same California Newt larva a few weeks later in the process of metamorphosing into its terrestrial phase. (Note the reduced gills, orange coloring, and thinner tail.	The same juvenile California Newt two weeks later, fully transformed into its terrestrial phase.	These Gregarious Slender Salamanders were found underneath ground debris along with some eggs. As their name indicates. this species often forms communial nests, but the females typically leave the site after laying. Male and subadult salamanders will often still be found under the same cover as the eggs. © Duncan Parks

In this video, female California Newts repeatedly attack and bite at newt egg sacs. Maybe they want to destroy the eggsfor some reason, maybe they are trying to eat them, or maybe there is another explanation.	A female Sierra Newt clings to several recently-laid egg masses in a shallow pool in Fresno County.	A look at a Northwestern Salamander breeding pond during the February breeding season, including several egg masses, and a paedomorph in the water at night.

A female Western Long-toed Salamander laying eggs underwater at night in early February, King County, Washington.	Eggs on an underwater stick laid by the female Western Long-toed Salamander to the left, soon after she finished.	This short video shows two female Western Long-toed Salamanders underwater laying their eggs on submerged sticks at night.. After the first one is finished we see the eggs she left behind. (Same as in the pictures to the right.)

Unlike the much more visible Pacific newts, who breed in full daylight, Western Long-toed Salamanders do their breeding and egg laying at night, and they seem to do it under the cover of leaves on the bottom of the pond. In this video we can see a couple interacting under some leaves in a breeding pond..	Views of some Western Long-toed Salamander eggs on submerged sticks. Some of the eggs are temporarily pulled out of the water for a better look.
Below is a series of pictures showing the development of the Northwestern Salamander from eggs to aquatic larva to air-breating juveniles. All pictures were taken underwater except for the last one of a metamorphosed juvenile.

Recently-laid eggs inside an egg mass	Mature eggs	Eggs about to hatch

Larva right after hatching	Maturing larva	Larva with newly developed legs

Mature larva	Larva with gills almost completely reduced This larva is already spending some of its time on land.	Fully-metamorphosed juvenile on land.
Salamander Predators

Two views of a Santa Cruz Gartersnake eating a newt. The newt is either a Rough-skinned Newt or a Coast Range Newt. Both are extremely poisonous to most animals, including humans, but the gartersnake is immune to this poison. © Odophile.com		Salamander larvae are preyed upon by vertebrates and also some non-vertebrates: this California Tiger Salamander larva is caught by Giant Water Bug nymph, (Lethocerus sp.) which will kill it by injecting a digestive saliva then sucking out the liquefied remains. © Joseph E. DiDonato

An adult San Bernardino Ring-necked snake eating an adult Arboreal Salamander in Los Angeles County © Jonathan Benson
Miscellaneous Salamander Observations

During the dry season, Arboreal Salamanders seek out cool moist areas underground or in trees to rest until the rainy season. Eric Boyer discovered this large group of estivating adult and juvenile Arboreal salamanders underneath some wood while remodeling a backyard in Santa Barbara County in June. © Eric Boyer	Wandering Salamanders inhabit fallen trees on the ground as well as the canopies of massive redwood trees several hundred feet tall. These salamanders probably spend their whole life in the tree.	A gilled metamorph Rough-skinned Newt photographed underwater. This newt was found on land at the edge of the water, but still has its gills, so it is in the process of matamorphosing from an aquatic larva to a land-dwelling newt.

California Slender Salamander in a coiled defensive pose. I have seen millipedes coiled in a similar manner where these salamanders are found. It's possible that the coiling behavior is meant to make the salamander look like the foul tasting millipede to avoid predation.	This video shows a few short looks at several California Slender Salamanders sitting still, coiled up, and quickly wriggling away.	A large mass of Rough-skinned Newts underwater in early September in southern Oregon © David Mikkelsen There are aproximately 2000 newts in this mass, according to David Mikkelsen. He has observed that after the spring breeding season the newts congregate in underwater leaf litter in the shaded still water at the edge of this river and stay there until the beginning of the fall rains when they once again return to the surrounding forest.

Yellow-eyed Ensatina	Coast Range Newt	The red-cheeked Imitator Salamander (bottom) is thought to imitate the red warning cheek color of the Red-cheeked Salamander (top) which lives in the same habitat. Presumably, the Red-cheeked salamander is more toxic than the Imitator.
One theory suggests that the reason the Yellow-eyed Ensatina has large yellow patches on its eyes, while other subspecies of Ensatina do not, is that the non-toxic Ensatina is mimicking the dangerously toxic Coast Range Newt, which lives in the same habitat, in order to avoid attacks from predators that have evolved to avoid newts. The Ensatina's body color is also similar to that of the newt.
The three Coastal Giant Salamanders below were born in streams where they breathe with gills until they transform. When they transform, they lose their gills and develop lungs and move onto land to live. They will return to the water occasionally to feed and to breed.

In this short video, you can see the gills working on this tiny Coastal Giant Salamander larva shown underwater in a small aquarium.	A Coastal Giant Salamander where it was found under a rock at the quiet edge of a stream.	A very large captive neotenic Coastal Giant Salamander, shown underwater. Sometimes, salamanders which begin in an aquatic phase, do not transform into the land phase. They become neotenic (or paedomorphic) adults which retain the juvenile characteristics of gills and finned tail.

An adult male White-spotted Slimy Slamander showing a mental gland under its chin. Some male salamanders rub their mental gland on a female during courtship to stimulate her with his pheramones.	Western Red-backed Salamander showing its nasolabial grooves, which are grooves that run from the nose to the mouth. These salamanders communicate through chemical stimuli. These grooves are thought to aid the salamander in sensing these chemicals, which is probably very important in reproductive behavior.	Hydromantes salamanders, which include the Mount Lyell Salamander seen above crawling at night on the face of a large rock, have the longest tongues of any salamanders. They can extend the tongue more than half the length of their entire bodies, including the tail. You can see a slow-motion movie of one shooting out its tongue to feed here.

This adult Tellico Salamander from Tennessee has lost its left rear foot and a new one is growing back. You can see the new toes developing on the right. * Salamanders can re-generate many of their body parts, sometimes in less than a month, including their limbs, tail, upper and lower jaws, eye lenses and retina, their intestines, and even their brains. Neuroscientists have removed the brain of a salamander, ground it up, then re-inserted it into the salamander's skull and the brain connections grew back. The salamander was able to function again soon. * Karen Shanor & Jagneet Kanwal. Bats Sing, Mice Giggle - The Surprising Science of Animals' Inner Lives.

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