Northern spring salamander

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Gyrinophilus porphyriticus porphyriticus

Type: amphibian

Status: endangered

Species Guide

Northern spring salamander

Gyrinophilus porphyriticus porphyriticus

Species Type: amphibian

Conservation Status: endangered

IDENTIFICATION

4 1/4” – 8 5/8”. The northern spring salamander has a reddish coloration – typically either pink/orange or light brown with a reddish tinge. Darker markings form a faintly mottled or netlike pattern, but this mottling is not always obvious. Older individuals are darker. A faint light line bordered by a faint gray line runs from eye to tip of snout. The tail is keeled.

Distribution & Habitat

DISTRIBUTION AND HABITAT

Northern spring salamanders can be found in undeveloped mountainous habitat within Warren, Sussex and Passaic Counties.

Diet

DIET

Northern spring salamanders feed on a variety of invertebrates including earthworms, insects, crickets, ants, snails and slugs as well as other salamanders

Life Cycle

LIFE CYCLE

Adults breed during the winter and spring along streams. Females lay 40-60 eggs under rocks in small streams during the summer. Females remain with embryos until they hatch in late summer or fall. Larvae remain in slow moving sections of streams and can take 2-3 years to mature.

Scientific Classification

  • Kingdom: Animalia
  • Phylum: Chordata
  • Class: Amphibia
  • Order: Caudata
  • Family: Plethodontidae
  • Genus: Gyrinophilus
  • Species: G. porphyriticus porphyriticus