Seepage Salamander

Desmognathus aeneus

Seepage Salamander

SESA

Status

The Seepage Salamander is locally common at some sites within its range. Tennessee lists this species as in need of management.

Description

The Seepage Salamander is a tiny (4–5.7 cm) salamander. It has a reddish bronze dorsal band with mottled gray sides. There is usually a Y-shaped mark on its head behind the eyes. The venter is heavily pigmented.

Distribution

Desmognathus aeneus occurs at elevations from 210–1400 meters from southwestern North Carolina to east-central Alabama. There are several isolated colonies in west-central Alabama and northeastern Georgia.

Habitat

The Seepage Salamander lives within damp, but not wet, leaf beds on the forest floor near springs, seeps or streams.

Special Requirements

This species requires moist hardwood leaf beds near permanent running water.

Breeding Habits

In April or May, females deposit clusters of about twelve eggs under moss or leaves. Eggs hatch in late Spring or early summer into miniature adults. There is no larval stage.

Food Habits

This tiny salamander eats small invertebrates, primarily insects.

Management Suggestions

The maintenance of a wide buffer zone adjacent to seepage and small streams would protect the habitat of this species.

Additional References

Conant and Collins 1991; Harrison 1992; Martof and others 1980; Mount 1975.