Weird Facts About the Flatwoods Salamander

The flatwoods salamander is indigenous to the Southeastern United States, and is an endangered species. Like many salamanders, the flatwoods salamander begins its life in ponds or marshy areas, living primarily under water before it metamorphoses and becomes capable of sustaining itself as a terrestrial organism. The majority of flatwoods salamander populations are found in Florida, Alabama and South Carolina.

  1. The Flatwoods Salamander Lawsuit

    • In 2008, the U.S. Fish and Wildlife Service was served a lawsuit by the Center for Biological Diversity, Wild South and the Florida Biodiversity Project that forced the Service to recognize that there are, in fact, two different species of flatwoods salamander: reticulated and frosted. Though they share the same regional habitat and markings, these two salamander species have been verified as distinct for millions of years but had gone unrecognized as separate by the U.S. government until the time of the lawsuit.

    Population Identification

    • Flatwoods salamanders are very difficult to monitor due to many various factors, and as such scientific efforts to gauge their population have been very difficult. Of the 45 known populations of flatwoods salamanders, many are based on speculation given the evidence of only a single flatwoods salamander in an area.

    Reproduction

    • Female salamanders usually lay up to 220 eggs each, either singly or in small groups of up to 30. These eggs are usually hidden under debris, such as bits of grass, soil or leaf matter to protect them. The eggs will not hatch all at once, however; anywhere from one to two weeks may separate the first and final hatchings of a single clutch, depending on environmental conditions.

    Maturity

    • Males and females of flatwoods salamanders reach sexual maturity at different ages in the wild. Males are considered sexually mature within one year, but females are not sexually mature for two or more years. In captivity, however, both male and female specimens were observed to reach maturity within one year.

    Self Defense

    • To protect itself from predators, both species of flatwoods salamander secrete high concentrations of a distasteful substance. When threatened, they will curl up so that their head is under the base of their tail, exposing the glands which produce the secretion.