Salamanders

Northern Dusky Salamander

• A small 8-9 cm salamander.
• The northern dusky salamander is grey to brown in colour, with a diagonal line running from the eye to behind the mouth.
• Young dusky salamanders are brightly colored with a yellow or red stripe on their back, but this pattern is obscured on older individuals.
• The northern dusky salamander is one of the most widely distributed salamanders in North America; however, its range in Ontario is restricted to the Niagra Gorge.
• This species is a "stream-side" salamander typically found along the banks of gorge-bottom streams.
• The northern dusky is not usually found far from water, because it is a lungless salamander and its skin must stay moist in order for it to breathe.
• Eggs are laid in clusters of 12-27 eggs in scooped-out nests under rocks close to water.
• Eggs hatch after 70-89 days, and larvae transform at an age of 7-19 months.
• Larvae are aquatic, but transforming larvae are found among dead leaves and loose debris along the stream edge.
• Adult salamanders feed on insects, slugs, and other invertebrates.
• ENDANGERED