Salamanders are intriguing animals. With long bodies and tails, salamanders look like lizards. Yet, their mucus-covered bodies and short legs are reminiscent of eels. In fact, salamanders are amphibians that are more closely related to frogs than they are to lizards or eels. If you are hiking in Wyoming, you may be able to find the tiger salamander, the only species of salamander native to the state.
Although the color and patterning of the adult tiger salamander can vary, it is most often found with the yellow and black stripes that give it its name. Other possible colors include blue, green and gray. Tiger salamanders have a large, flat head and small eyes. They have thick bodies and tails. Tiger salamanders can grow to over 13 inches, making them one of the world's largest terrestrial salamanders found in the U.S., says the Animal Planet website.
Salamanders can be found in moist areas, such as marshes and slow bodies of water, during the rainy season. They prefer water that has few or no fish. During the rest of the year, salamanders are more difficult to find. They will live in forests or under leaf litter. Some tiger salamanders will burrow underground in an attempt to retain moisture on their skin. Tiger salamanders can be found in elevations that are very low or as high as 10,000 feet.
The tiger salamander's favorite watery breeding holes are ones that lack the predatory fish that consume the salamander's larvae. Males arrive at the breeding ponds first in springtime and compete for the females that follow. Fertilization occurs internally while the male and female dance and communicate by tapping their tails. Breeding season last for about two weeks. Once mating occurs, females lay masses of up to 50 eggs. The larvae hatch in about four weeks. Larvae typically begin to form into terrestrial adults by late summer, although it will take another four to five years for them to reach sexual maturity.
Tiger salamanders are carnivorous throughout their life span. Larvae eat aquatic invertebrates, tadpoles and minnows. Adult tiger salamanders eat mollusks, insects and earthworms. There are some reports that adult tiger salamanders eat small field mice. Biologist and researcher Brian E. Smith has noted that tiger salamanders eat a variety of food that is largely dependent on availability. Some larval tiger salamanders become cannibalistic if there is not enough prey in their aquatic homes. These cannibals then grow considerably larger than their counterparts and reach adulthood more quickly.
Adult tiger salamanders can most often been seen after spring rains when the mating season begins. This is when predators, such as raccoons, hope to get a tasty meal. When threatened, the tiger salamander will try to burrow into the ground. If this is not possible, then it will arch its tail and spread its feet. It will then secrete a poisonous mucus and wave its tail in an attempt to poison the predator.
