On a sunny day, in early Fall, one may find him or herself on a hike in the woods. While on this hike, one may notice various logs and branches laying around on the ground. If you were to take time to investigate further by carefully rolling such log or large branch, you would discover a whole new world living amongst them. There are many creatures that call these logs their home.
One such creature is the Marbled Salamander. The Marbled Salamander is named for its marbled pattern.
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| Photo by ME |
Males ( pictured on the right) have bright white bands.
Females (pictured below) have silvery, grayish bands.
Though it can still be a little tricky to tell the males and females apart.
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| Photo by ME |
These colorful and curious looking creatures forage for worms and other small insects to eat.
They are rather secretive and take some effort to find. They typically, in addition to logs and large branches, will hide under cover board around wetlands. They like to hangout near temporal pools, which are depressions in the ground that fill up with water when a rainstorm occurs.
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| Vernal Pools. Photo by ME. |
From fall to spring these salamanders breed in these pools. Interestingly enough, the female stays with and guards her eggs until the pools fill with water.
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| Photo by ME |
So, as you can see, there is a whole new world to discover not only just under logs and large branches, but in the great outdoors in general. I certainly have enjoyed my explorations so far, especially when it comes to finding nature's "hidden art"; the Marbled Salamander
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| Photo by Me |
