Origin
The viscose salamander belongs to the category of amblistomoides which are primitive amphibians because they have amphicelitic vertebrae. This salamander lives in forests and grasslands throughout North America, from northern Mexico to Canada.
It prefers moist places near rivers, ponds, lakes, swamps, hiding in rodent burrows or pits that it digs alone in moist and loose soil.The viscose salamander is a common North American species, threatened due to natural habitat destruction and pollution, but is not in danger of extinction.
It has the scientific name Plethodon glutinosus, belongs to the order Caudata, family Ambystomatidae.
Food Of The Viscose Salamander
The viscose salamander is a great lover of wet places, it is a nocturnal species that stays during the day hidden in shelters, does not appear at all in sunny open spaces. Its food is made up of insects, crickets, cockroaches, snails, worms and other small invertebrate animals.
He follows his prey quietly and suddenly jumps on it with his mouth wide open. He quickly catches it with his tongue, brings it into his mouth, grinds it with his teeth and swallows it. It is very greedy, in the stomach of some specimens (which was up to 10 cm long) were found up to 60 victims.
She has a well-developed sense of smell, which helps her detect prey.
Adult specimens hunt larger animals such as baby mice or small frogs.
Features Viscose Salamander
In North America the viscose salamander is considered one of the most colorful amphibians. It has a body length of 18-35 cm, the tail measuring more than half of this size. On the sides of the body has 12-13 carcateristic grooves of the species.
The body has a black, brown or olive-dark color with different yellow spots on the dorsal side, the rest on the ventral side is gray. The lower neck area is yellow especially in adult specimens. The intensity of the colors varied from one specimen to another.
The head is large, the snout broad and rounded, the angular bones of the skull are missing, and the Palatine teeth are arranged in transverse strings. The pienal gland of this salamander is located behind the eyes and indicates that it has good visual memory.
On the sides of the head appear large and round, very expressive eyes. The forelimbs are thin, have four fingers each, and the hind limbs are more robust and have five fingers each.
For several months, from October to spring, these salamanders hibernate in burrows dug and abandoned by other animals, especially rodents.
Although they are immune when it comes to themselves, viscose salamanders are carriers and transmit a virus called Batrachochytrium dendrobatidis.
The California tiger salamander (Ambystoma californiense), the barred tiger salamander (A. mavortium) and the plateau tiger salamander (A. velasci) were considered subspecies of the viscose salamander. Now, after studying genetics, they are considered separate species.
The Mexican salamander axolotl is considered a relative of the viscous salamander.
Viscose Salamander Breeding
The breeding season takes place in the spring months (when they come out of hibernation) or after the period of heavy rains. Mating takes place in lakes, ponds and ponds, the female lays in the water a large number of eggs that vary from 100-1000 (can be even larger).
Eggs are always laid on the bottom of water, rocks or aquatic vegetation and hatch after a period of about 4 weeks. Thus appear the larvae of salamdra-Viscosa which are extremely voracious, hunting small invertebrates and aquatic insects.
They have a large mouth, endowed with many teeth, even more than in adult specimens, and sometimes manifest a cannibal instinct due to aggressiveness and desire to feed. In mountainous areas the larvae reach the final stage of development after one year, in lower regions but metamorphosis ends after 3-4 months when they have a body length of 8 cm.
The biggest enemies of the larvae are fish and frogs, and of the adults are raccoons and birds.
The life expectancy of the salamander is about 20 years. Many individuals in the Wild have the chance to mate only once in their lifetime.
