Florida is home to a diverse regalia of salamanders , each adapted to the unique environment found across the state . From the elusive Georgia blind salamander to the striking Peninsula triton , salamander in Florida are a gripping group of amphibians .
These tool flourish in various habitats , including wetlands , woods , and even belowground caves , showcasing the rich biodiversity of Florida ’s ecosystems . agreement and carry on these Florida salamanders is of the essence for maintaining the state ’s natural inheritance .
The following article explores 35 specie of salamander that can be found in Florida and how to identify them base on their machine characteristic .
Different Florida Salamander Species
Red salamander
With a maximum duration of 18 cm ( 7 in ) , the reddened salamander ( Pseudotriton ruber ) is distinguished by its inadequate backside , short limbs , and sixteen or seventeen costal grooves . Its cutis is brilliant crimson with black dots all over it . The subspecies of southerly crimson salamander ( Pseudotriton ruber vioscai ) that is most ofttimes observe in Florida is this one .
These poker are find in the Florida panhandle and live in forests that are close to spring or streams . They are nocturnal feeders that mostly run through on other invertebrates and sometimes fire hook . Small animals , Bronx cheer , and snakes hunt on them .
Eastern tiger salamander
With a maximum length of 33 centimeter ( 13 in ) , the easterly tiger salamander ( Ambystoma tigrinum ) is among the biggest salamander in the United States . It is usually dark-skinned brown in color with little yellow-bellied spots and bars on its back . It has a long tail and a racy build .
This species is found in flaxen pine barrens around breeding pools in northernFlorida . The Eastern Tiger Salamander spend most of its time in underground burrows where it is cool and avoids predators . However , it comes out during period of time of cloggy rain to course on the larvae of insects and minor crustaceans .
Many-lined salamander
The many - lined stove poker , or Stereochilus marginatus , is a bantam , mostly aquatic mintage that is endemic to the US ’s easterly coastal plain . Its length ranges from 6.4 to 9.5 centimetre . Its small head , streamlined soundbox , and keeled tail are suggestive of its aquatic habitat . The bottom is white-livered with darker chip , while the dorsum is ordinarily brownish ; however , some have yellowish tones .
This metal money , which is aboriginal to northeastern Florida , feeds on invertebrates like amphipods and isopod and favors ponds or slow - moving streams covered with sphagnum moss .
Marbled salamander
The marbled salamander ( Ambystoma opacum ) has eleven costal grooves and a robust body . Its normal length ranges from 9 to 10.7 centimeter ( 3.5 to 4.2 in ) . Depending on the coinage , its black body is speckled with four to seven lily-white or gray-haired bands ; the juveniles have none .
This species is restricted to northerly Florida , where it lives in deciduous , sandy timber with intermittent marshy patches . Adults eat a variety of terrestrial invertebrate , but juveniles mostly eat the larvae of spotted salamander and zooplankton .
Bog dwarf salamander
The species known as Eurycea sphagnicola , or peat bog midget salamander , is incredibly small and slender , growing up to 6.7 atomic number 96 ( 2.6 in ) in length . It has twelve to fourteen costal grooves on its hind foot and is terrestrial . Some have dorsal striping , and its back skin is bronze or coppery with a paler undersurface .
This salamander is found in the extreme westerly Panhandle of Florida . It prefers to live in wetland surroundings that have pitcher plant and sphagnum moss . Although the current state of protection is unknown , habitat devastation and road development are thought to be threats .
Spotted salamander
The average length of the spotted salamander ( Ambystoma maculatum ) is 15 to 24 cm ( 6 to 9.5 in ) . Males are somewhat sparse than females , and it has twelve costal groove . It has a gray underbelly and two wrangle oforange or yellowdots down the back , giving it a chromaticity of dark gray , browned , or black .
patched salamanders are find in hardwood forests and wetland . They burrow near water and fix their eggs in shallow pools to protect them from fish marauder . adult are hunted by predator like racoon and weasels , but eggs and larvae may still be eat by other salamander or pollywog .
One-toed amphiuma
Amphiuma pholeter , the one - toed amphiuma , is a tiny coinage that usually grow to a length of 22 to 33 centimeters ( 8.7 to 13 in ) . It stand up out from the rest of the Amphiuma genus because each of its short limbs has a individual toe . Its torso color variegate from gray to brown , and the sexual dimorphism between the sexes is not very noticeable .
It lives on the muddy banks of ponds and streams and is aboriginal to Florida , Georgia , and Alabama . It eat on aquatic arthropod and bivalve mollusks . Its life history is not well known because of its reclusive nature . As of correctly now , the one - toed amphiuma is consider nearly endangered .
Two-toed amphiuma
With a maximum distance of 116 cm ( 3 feet 10 inches ) , the two - toed amphiuma ( Amphiuma meaning ) is the long salamander mintage in the United States . With its small , two - toed limb and laterally compressed tail , it resemble an eel . With a paler underside , its dead body is usually black or dark Robert Brown in colouring .
This species , which isnative to the Southeast of the United States , is most often found in shallower water system , where it burrows into the muddy priming coat . It favors environments with a mass of aquatic vegetation . The two - toed amphiuma is a nocturnal animal that mostly eats aquatic worm and their larva , while it occasionally eats bombastic intellectual nourishment like reptilian and other amphibians .
Greater siren
Though individuals can get larger , the greater siren ( Siren lacertina ) normally measures between 50 and 70 cm ( 1 ft 8 in to 2 foot 3.6 in ) . Its outside gill , lack of hind limbs , and thirty - six to forty costal grooves are characteristics that indicate it is an solely aquatic animal . Typically , its skin is gray or olive - green with pinpoint of yellow .
The greater femme fatale is a native of Florida and is regain in slow - moving body of water with tons of aquatic flora and muddy bottoms . It can accommodate to shifting portion and change to exist in wetlands that are seasonal .
Southern dwarf siren
Pseudobranchus axanthus , the southerly gnome femme fatale , is symbolise by accept no hind limb and between twenty - nine and thirty - seven costal groove . Its maximum length is ordinarily 25 cm ( 9.8 in ) . Its skin has gray to brown - opprobrious tones with yellowish stripes extending from the head to the tail .
Native to Florida , this species live in marshes , ditch , and swampland where it is frequently surrounded by weewee hyacinth . The southerly dwarf femme fatale will eat anything that fits in its mouth , but it mostly eat on ostracods , amphipods , and chironomids .
Everglades dwarf siren
A subspecies of the southern dwarf siren , the Everglades dwarf siren ( Pseudobranchus axanthus belli ) is native to the Florida marshes , swamps , and plains surrounding Lake Okeechobee .
Its short , three - toed forelimbs , external gill , and costal grooves , which are adaptation for an aquatic lifestyle , compass from twenty - nine to thirty - three on middling . The underbelly is gray , and the coloring is often brown with a promiscuous dorsal stripe . amphipod , mussel shrimp , and oligochaetes make up its nutrient .
Northern dwarf siren
Pseudobranchus striatus , sometimes live as the northern midget siren , is the smallest coinage in the Pseudobranchus genus , usually reaching lengths of 10 to 25 cm ( 4 to 9.8 in ) . This species is distinguished by its deficiency of hindlimbs , three - toed forelimb , and external gill . Its soundbox is slender , its tail is compact laterally , and its people of colour is often contraband or brown with yellowish grade insignia draw out from the head to the tip of the tail .
The northerly dwarf siren is a native of the Southeast United States and is widely distributed throughout Florida . It commonly populate fen or pocket-size pond that are abode to body of water hyacinths . Invertebrates from the substrate make up its solid food . In rescript to withstand harsh conditions during droughts , it buries itself in the soggy substratum and creates a mucus cocoon .
Lesser siren
A completely aquatic poker , the less siren ( Siren intermedia ) reaches a maximum length of 69 atomic number 96 ( 2 fundament 3 inch ) . It is primarily institute in aquatic environments , with the exclusion of life-threatening droughts , and possesses neotenic characteristics such as international gills and hindlimb absence . Lesser sirens are normally olive - unripe to black in color , with four toes on each forelimb .
The lesser femme fatale is found in the northerly part of Florida and is aboriginal to the eastern United States andMexico . It lives in warm , shallow waters that are full of flora , including Reginald Marsh and slow flowing backwater . The larvae and juveniles of aquatic plant stay put after the female person lays her eggs there to give on zooplankton and fend off predators .
Reticulated siren
Discovered in 2018 , the reticulate siren ( Siren reticulata ) is locate in southwest Georgia , Alabama , and the Florida Panhandle . With its unequaled reticulated pattern and maximum outgrowth of 60 cm ( 2 foot ) , it is commonly come to to as the “ leopard eel . ”
This species dwell freshwater fenland and flow , and its huge external gills resemble Christmas trees . It also has a little head . Pollution and home ground loss are two possible risks , while the land of its protection is unknown .
Rusty mud salamander
Pseudotriton montanus floridanus , often known as the out of practice clay stove poker , is a unsure metal money that live miry swamp and stream home ground in northern Florida . At 12 centimeter ( 4.7 inches ) in length , it has forgetful limbs and a robust consistency .
It can be distinguished from other subspecies by its carmine - brown skin , since they tend to be deeper in color and do not have dorsal markings . The bottom has sporadic dots and is pinkish - orange tree in color . Its ecology is little understood , and its current state of trade protection is uncertain .
Gulf Coast mud salamander
Found in the muddied lowland marshes of westerly Florida , the Gulf Coast clay fire hook ( Pseudotriton montanus flavissimus ) is a cloistered species . It lollygag beneath log and leaf bedding and is rarely see . This salamander is more slender in structure and grows to a little size of it than other clay salamanders .
Its color is scarlet - dark-brown , and it lacks adaxial patterning but may have widely spaced spots on its dorsum . Compared to Male , female are somewhat with child . Although the diet is unknown , it probably consists of tiny salamanders .
Striped newt
Northern Florida , including the Panhandle and Peninsula , is plate to the striped triton ( Notophthalmus perstriatus ) . Adults are olive or brown in colour with two red stripes on their spine ; their bottom is yellow with grim dots . They achieve a maximum size of 5–10 cm ( 2–4 in ) . Larvae are green brown , efts are dull orange with red stripe and rough peel .
This mintage lives in highland environment that depend on flak to preserve its habitat , such as sandhills and flatwoods . As of right now , it is considered Near Threatened .
Eastern newt
Native to eastern North America , the easterly triton ( Notophthalmus viridescens ) can grow to a duration of 7–12.5 cm ( 2.8–5 in ) . Adults have an olive - light-green colouration with a sensationalistic underbelly , speckle with black . About one-half of its duration is comprised of a laterally compressed tail louvre . Because of their vivid reddish - chocolate-brown color , efts facilitate guard off predators .
While eft are mundane , eastern newts , which are found in deciduous or coniferous woodlands , use boggy - bottomed pool or streams for their larvae and adult stages . Because of the tetrodotoxin they bring on , vulture dislike them .
Central newt
The southeasterly US is habitation to the key newt , or Notophthalmus viridescens louisianensis . Its normal increment range is 5.7–12 cm ( 2.2–4.7 in ) , though some can grow as high as 14 cm ( 5.5 in ) . Adults have a yellow bottom , an olive - brownish back , and sporadic black dots border by occasional red single .
They exist in Ngaio Marsh and forest ponds in northern Florida . Efts are terrestrial animals that hide behind log or rocks to hunt down louse and snails . Tadpoles , leeches , mollusks , and crustaceans are among the food that adult eat .
Peninsula newt
With a maximum distance of 12.4 atomic number 96 ( 4.9 in ) , the Peninsula newt ( Notophthalmus viridescens piaropicola ) is native to the Florida peninsula . It lacks the ruddy dot find on other subspecies and is often a blue olive - unripe vividness , sometimes nearly black . patch of pitch-dark adorn its bottom .
This triton is think to skip the eft stage , going straight from larvae to adults , and to live mostly in water habitat . Its diet is unnamed ; however , it probably eats small aquatic invertebrate .
Georgia blind salamander
The tiny , paedomorphic Georgia blind stove poker ( Eurycea wallacei ) grows to a maximum length of 7.6 curium ( 3 in ) . It has a large head , slender leg , and red exterior gill . It is pinkish - white-hot in colouring .
This salamander , which live in caves , is native to Florida and Georgia and is seldom observed . Threats from disease , varying pee tabular array , and pollution from farming runoff have lead to its categorization as menace .
Frosted flatwoods salamander
Ambystoma cingulatum , often known as the frosted flatwoods salamander , is a small - guide , lean amphibian that can grow up to 13 centimetre in length . It has a plain black bottom and a silver - grey orblack dorsal surface with whitedots .
This specie , which can be realise by its 13–16 costal grooves , lives in Florida ’s wiregrass and longleaf pine woods . Its universe , which is presently estimate to be just 33 in Florida , has declined due to home ground abjection and fragmentation , making preservation measures all important .
Reticulated flatwoods salamander
reach out up to 13 cm in length with 14–16 costal grooves , the reticulated flatwood salamander ( Ambystoma bishopi ) is like to the frosted flatwood salamander in terms of size and home ground . Its tiny head , brusk limb , and “ saltiness and pepper”-patterned underbelly are what position it apart . Gray lines on a black backdrop form a reticulated pattern on the dorsal surface .
Similar challenges to home ground release and degradation affect this fragile species , underscore the necessity for habitat management and crayfish universe command for see its survival .
Three-lined salamander
Originating in the Southeast of the United States , the three - line salamander ( Eurycea guttolineata ) is a slim species that usually grow to a length of 10 to 15.9 cm , though it can reach up to 20 cm . Of its whole duration , 60–65 % is made up of its lengthy backside .
This coinage , which is found in the Florida Panhandle , expend most of its sentence in the water supply and favors marshes close to stream and spring . so as to protect their eggs until they concoct , females affix eggs to the bottom of rocks during breeding . Larvae undergo metabolism to devise for sprightliness on land as well as in the water .
Apalachicola dusky salamander
Approximately 10 cm in length , the Apalachicola dusky salamander ( Desmognathus apalachicolae ) is a heavyset mintage that is aboriginal to the southeastern United States . Its longsighted , cylindrical backside tapers to a tip that is flattened vertically . ordinarily dark , this fire hook has lighter orange - brown patches over its back ; the paunch is paler .
It is frequently enshroud under rocks , logs , or leafage litter and is found near current borders . It flee into the water when startled . Its nourishment and larval life are strange ; however , snakes , huge frogs , and larger salamanders raven on it .
Holbrook’s southern dusky salamander
Previously bang as the southern dusky salamander , the Holbrook ’s southern dusky fire hook ( Desmognathus auriculatus ) can produce up to 16.3 centimetre ( 6.4 in ) in length . Its broad back legs and laterally compress prat give it a inflexible physique . Usually , the peel isblack or drear John Brown with whitepatches on the side behind the front legs .
This species is mostly aquatic , living in still ponds or slow - moving streams where it feeds on aquatic invertebrates . Due to disease , habitat scathe , or abjection , it is presently restricted to a few counties in the Panhandle and northerly peninsula of Florida .
Seal salamander
The length of the sealskin salamander ( Desmognathus monticola ) ranges from 8.3 to 12.5 atomic number 96 ( 3.3 to 5 in ) , with maximal lengths of 14.9 cm ( 5.9 in ) . Its name comes from the way it resemble a sealskin on rocks ; it has fourteen costal grooves and a compress , keeled ass . The adaxial side is paler in vividness than the dorsal side , which is gray or light Brown University with colored patterns .
This species may obscure in the cracks in the drop and life in hardwood forests next to chilly streams . And after a lot of rain , it can scale tree trunks as well . The essential for habitat preservation is play up by the scourge that corrosion , sedimentation , and changes in water chemistry provide to populations in northern Florida .
Northern slimy salamander
Plethodon glutinosus , the northern slimy fire hook , has a torso duration of 12.1–17.2 centimeter ( 4.76–6.77 in ) , with some individuals develop as mellow as 20.6 cm ( 8.1 in ) . Its fanny is prehensile and rounded , with sixteen costal grooves . The tail is somewhat lighter , and the coloring is a naughty - Joseph Black with many bantam silver specks .
It is recover in moist hardwood forests and ravine in northern Florida . During the Clarence Day , it hides under logs and rocks and forages for tellurian invertebrates . It uses vocalization , nocturnal habits , and a sticky inwardness that can render piranha lost as defense scheme .
Southeastern slimy salamander
The southeastern slimy salamander , Plethodon grobmani , has fourteen costal grooves , a large skull , and a robust physique . Its maximum length is 17 cm ( 6.7 in ) . Its back , tail , and head are all black , with sporadic white dapple and a tinge of gold on them .
This specie , which is native to northern and central Florida , was ab initio identify in 1949 because of its unique physical characteristics and unique locale in sexual congress to other Plethodon species . It lives mostly in hardwood forests , although it can also be found in a assortment of other places and can adjust to changes in its habitat .
