Four-toed Salamander

Hemidactlylium scutatum

Conservation Status:

Photographed by Sophia Marler in Glastonbury

Description

Four-toed salamanders are two to four inches in length and can range in color from red, brown, orange, or gray. They have white stomachs with black specks, uniquely being the only species in Connecticut with this belly pattern. Their tails are brighter than the rest of their body, and there is a clear constriction separating the tail from the body. This species gets its name from another unique trait of having only four toes on each foot, with all other

Connecticut salamanders having five. Males have snouts that appear more square, and female snouts are round.

Habitat

These salamanders are most commonly found in bogs with an abundance in sphagnum moss. They may also be found in wetlands or grass surrounding ponds.

Behavior

Four-toed salamanders hibernate in burrows, commonly doing so in groups. They eat small invertebrates such as arachnids, worms, beetles, and ticks. When threatened, they may coil and tuck their head under their tail, play dead, shed their tail, rely on camouflage and stay still, or secrete toxins. In the early spring, females will nest on the banks of ponds and lay around 30 individual eggs. They will remain with the eggs and guard them until they hatch into aquatic larvae.

Range

Present