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Length: 2 ¼ - 4 inches. Record length is 5 inches.

 
Lifespan: A relatively long-lived species, Red-backs may have a lifespan of around 10 years, with a few possibly surviving for as long as 25 years.

 

Range: The range of the Northern Red-backed Salamander is from southern Quebec and the Canadian Maritime Provinces west to northeastern Minnesota and south to northern and eastern North Carolina. There is also a disjunct population in southern North Carolina.

 

Habitat: Red-backed Salamanders are terrestrial salamanders that are found for the most part in forested or mostly wooded areas. They may be found in the highest densities in habitats with a well-developed layer of organic soil and leaf litter. Hiding beneath all manner of woodland debris, including trash left behind by humans, they move about on rainy nights in search of their prey. Sometimes even climbing small plants in their search for food. During periods of prolonged dry weather they retreat to moist zones deep below the forest floor to avoid desiccation. Probably the commonest salamander on the South Fork they are often found in cellar window dry wells and the damp basements of woodland homes.

Food: Diet consists of earthworms, snails, slugs, millipedes, crickets, ground beetles, ants and other insects. They in turn are prey for many other animals including snakes, birds, small carnivorous mammals and even larger salamanders.

Reproduction: Red-backed Salamanders are the only salamanders on the South Fork whose life cycle is not tied to water. During the summer month’s females lay 3-17 miniature eggs that are light to dark-yellow in color. The eggs, which are in grape like clusters, are deposited in small cavities under rotting logs or stones. The female stays with the eggs and protects them for about 30 days until they hatch into terrestrial Juvenals that resemble miniature adults.

A member of the family of lungless salamanders, red-backs absorb oxygen through their moist skin and the lining of the mouth, which is why desiccation is lethal to them. They occur in two distinct color forms that can often be found together. However, on the South Fork, the gray or lead-backed form is the one that is almost always encountered. To the west of our area the red-backed form is much more common and it also occurs on Gardiners Island along with the lead-backed morph.