All about the four-toed salamander
The four-toed salamander is a small reptile that only grows to about two or three inches long. You can recognize the four-toed salamander by simply counting the number of toes on each foot. Four-toed salamanders also have a white belly with black markings and a ring around the base of the tail.
The four-toed salamander is in danger of extinction. It’s on the endangered species list in Indiana. It’s listed as threatened in neighboring Illinois and a species of special concern in Ohio, Missouri, Minnesota, and Wisconsin.
This type of salamander prefers a moist environment, particularly a forest. You’ll find plenty of four-toed salamanders in shallow pools and marshy areas. The four-toed salamander typically retreats to forest areas during the summer.
During the spring, female salamanders head to a nearby breeding pool in the forest to lay eggs. Female salamanders typically lie upside-down when they’re getting ready to lay their eggs. There are three different nesting patterns that this type of salamander is known to use. Some salamanders are solitary nesters, which means they lay their own eggs and care only for the eggs they actually laid. Other four-toed salamanders use a communal nesting pattern, which means one female is caring for the eggs of two to 14 other salamanders. In the communal nesting pattern, typically some of the females leave after they lay the eggs, while one or two others stay behind to take care of the eggs. The third type of nesting pattern is called oophagy. In this type of nest, one female eats some of the eggs laid by another female before she lays her eggs inside the communal nest.
The four-toed salamander typically eats invertebrate creatures like worms, ticks, and beetles. This type of salamander also becomes prey itself, especially to other larger species of salamander. The larvae of this type of salamander are often consumed by some types of fish and aquatic beetles, in addition to other types of salamanders. Shrews and snakes have also been shown to feed on four-toed salamanders. You can tell if a four-toed salamander has encountered a predator recently by examining its tail closely. This type of salamander will drop part of its tail, still wiggling, to distract predators and get away.
Usually the four-toed salamander is not noticeable because of its small size, and many of its usual habitats are being destroyed regularly. Many environmental agencies are requesting that you report the location of this species of salamander if you find it. This is because efforts are underway to protect this unique kind of salamander. It’s the only one with four toes on its feet, and its very specific requirements for its habitat mean the environment this type of salamander needs to survive is disappearing rapidly.
The four-toed salamander does not have lungs, so it needs the wetland areas to survive and lay its eggs. The four-toed variety is one of the most rare kinds of salamanders that exists today, so seeing one is a rare treat that not many people will get to experience in their lifetimes.