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Amphibians of Lowell. Eastern Tiger Salamander. Eastern Tiger Salamander.
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Eastern Tiger Salamander • Description: Michigan's largest land living salamander is a robust animal with a broad, rounded snout and small eyes. The background color is black, brown, or olive, with scattered yellow or brownish blotches, spots, and streaks over the head, back, and tail. The larger aquatic larvae are usually greenish or grayish, speckled with black, with prominent feathery gills behind the head. The larvae resemble small Mudpuppies, but have five (instead of four) toes on each hind foot. Adults are 7 to 13 inches (17.8 to 33 cm) long. • Habitat/Habits: Tiger Salamanders inhabit woodlands, meadows, marshes, and suburban areas, spending most of their time in burrows underground. Found in Michigan's western and southern Lower Peninsula, and in Alger County in the Upper Peninsula. They eat insects, worms, slugs, snails, and smaller salamanders. • Breeding: Breeding habits are similar to those described for the Blue spotted Salamander (see "Salamander Reproduction" above). Tiger Salamanders breed in a wide variety of ponds and wetlands, including stock and ornamental ponds and even shallow lake edges. Their large larvae often eat smaller amphibian larvae. • Conservation: Tiger Salamanders are less tied to woodland habitats than their smaller relatives, and can sometimes survive in deforested farm and suburban areas. They are sensitive to the contamination of breeding ponds by farm and lawn chemicals, and soon disappear from polluted habitats.
Red-backed Salamander (Plethodon cinereus) • Description: A thin bodied little salamander that occurs in two common color phases. The "redback" phase has a reddish or orange stripe down the back and tail, bordered by darker sides. The "leadback" phase lacks the stripe, and has a dark colored back, sometimes speckled with faint light spots. In both the belly is mottled with a white and gray "salt and pepper" pattern. Adults are 2.3 to 5 inches (5.8 to 12.7 cm) long. (Note that these salamanders sometimes lose portions of their tails during encounters with predators.) • Habitat/Habits: Found state wide in woodlands, especially deciduous woods with thick leaf litter and many decaying logs or stumps. Food is mostly small insects and other invertebrates. • Breeding: Unique among Michigan salamanders in not requiring water to reproduce; young go through larval stage in the egg. (See notes on this species under "Salamander Reproduction" above.) Eggs laid in early summer usually hatch in August. • Conservation: This common salamander is a "key" species in the woodland ecosystem; their abundance can signify a healthy forest environment. If their woodland habitat is severely modified or destroyed, these salamanders soon disappear.
Spotted Salamander (Ambystoma maculatum) • Description: A chunky bodied black or dark gray salamander with two rows of round yellow spots running from head to tail. Rarely, spots are tan or white, or even absent. Sides are usually unspotted, and the belly is grayish to purplish. Adults are 4.3 to 9.8 inches (110.8 to 24.8 cm) long. • Habitat/Habits: Formerly found state wide, Spotted Salamanders prefer mature, moist woodlands with access to vernal ponds for breeding. They spend most of the year in underground burrows, but are sometimes found under rotting logs or leaf litter. Small invertebrates, such as worms, insects, spiders, slugs, and snails are eaten. • Breeding: Breeding habits are very similar to those of the Blue spotted Salamander, described above under "Salamander Reproduction." Spotted Salamander egg masses tend to be quite dense, and are often invaded by a harmless green algae. The eggs hatch in 20 to 60 days, and the larvae transform about 60 to 90 days later. Breeding size is reached in 3 to 5 years. • Conservation: This species requires fairly mature woodlands, and soon disappears when logging or development opens up the habitat, reducing humidity and eliminating traditional breeding sites. Becoming rare in many parts of Michigan.
Blue-spotted Salamander (Ambystoma laterale) • Their coloration can vary but generally they are black with turquoise or pale blue flecks and spots on the sides, limbs, belly, and tail. The belly may be black or grayish black. Adults average about 3.5 to 5.5 inches (8.9 to 14 cm) long. • Note: Across much of Lower Michigan, populations of Blue spotted Salamanders often include many hybrid individuals that may appear stouter and grayer, with fewer or no blue spots on the sides. Most hybrids are triploid females. (Normal salamanders are diploid, having two sets of chromosomes in their body cells; triploid salamanders have an extra set). Hybrid populations result from the breeding of Blue-spotted Salamanders with other members of the Ambystoma genus. • Like most salamanders blue-spotted salamanders breed during the first warm spring rains of March and April. One of the best times to view salamanders is just after the ice melts in the vernal (forest ponds) wetlands. They can often be seen near the edge of the pond. After a brief courtship females will attach egg masses containing about a dozen fertile eggs onto submerged debris. One female can lay up to 500 eggs a year. See the section on breeding in "Michigan's Salamanders" for more details. • One of the most interesting adaptations of this species is its defense posture. When danger is sensed the blue-spotted salamander's tail lashes back and forth and produces a noxious secretion from two glands at the base of its tail. Even if the predator gets by this defense it may only end up a small morsel. When grabbed the salamander's tail will detach. While the predator is detained by the writhing tail the salamander zips off to safety. In time a new tail will grow to replace the lost one. • Blue spotted Salamanders are fairly common, and even occur in some of the larger urban parks and farm woodlots. They seem to be more tolerant of human habitat disturbance than the related Spotted Salamander, with which they are sometimes confused. They depend on fishless vernal ponds for breeding.
Fowler's Toad (Bufo fowleri) • DESCRIPTION: Like American Toad, but throat and belly is usually plain colored and has more warts (3 or more) in each dark spot on the back. 2 to 31/2 inches long. • HABITAT: Woodlands, often with sandy soil, such as Lake Michigan dune woodlands. • BREEDING: May-June, in ponds. Eggs in long strings. Tadpoles transform in mid to late summer. Tiny toadlets almost identical to American Toad. • VOICE: A short, bleating cry, like a lamb, but quite unlike the American Toad's trill. • RANGE AND STATUS: Extreme western and southern Lower Peninsula.
Green Frog (Rana clamitans) • DESCRIPTION: A large green, brown, or olive frog, 2 1/2 to 4 inches long. Some have blotchy markings on the back and/or sides. Has a fold of skin from eardrum down each side of back; the similar appearing, but larger, Bullfrog lacks these folds. Undersides are white, sometimes dappled with gray. Throat is yellow in the male, white in the female. Upper lip area is green or yellow. • HABITAT: Permanent ponds, lakes, marshes, wooded swamps, banks of streams. Eats insects, smaller frogs, and other small prey. • BREEDING: May-July, in permanent waters. Floating egg masses may hold over 4000 eggs. Tadpoles often take two seasons to transform into frogs. • VOICE: An emphatic "clung," like picking a banjo string. Short and loud. • RANGE AND STATUS: Common statewide.
Gray Treefrog (Hyla versicolor and H. chrysoscelis) • DESCRIPTION: Tree frogs have large, sticky toe pads. Color can change gray, green, or brown, according to environment or activity. Underside of hind legs yellow. 1 1/2 to 2 inches long. (The two species, Eastern and Cope's, are very similar in appearance and habits). • HABITAT: Woods, swamps, backyards. Able to climb vertically, or move horizontally, with specially adapted toe pads. • BREEDING: May, in woodland ponds. Males call from low vegetation, near or over water. Eggs in small cluster. Transformation of tadpoles by mid to late summer. • VOICE: A short musical trill. Often heard before and after breeding season on warm nights. Trills of the two species sound different. • RANGE AND STATUS: Common statewide. Relative distribution of the two "sibling" species is poorly known. • NOTES: They will often cling to windows of houses at night.
Northern Spring Peeper (Pseudacris crucifer) • Spring peepers are one of the earliest callers among the dozen frog species found in Michigan. During the first warm evenings of spring in late March or early April through May, their distinctive single note, high pitched "peep" is considered a harbinger of spring. The intensity of calling increases and can become a deafening chorus during humid evenings or just after a warm spring rain when many males congregate. • Only the male frogs call. They establish territories near the edge of permanent or ephemeral wetlands. They may call from elevated perches of submerged grass or shrubs near the water. The faster and louder a male sings, the more likely he is to attract a mate. • The female will lay between 750-1,200 eggs. The strings or clumps are attached to twigs and aquatic vegetation. Depending on the temperatures, eggs may hatch within four days or may take up to two weeks during cooler periods. After another two to three months, young tadpoles are fully transformed into young frogs and leave the pond. • They resemble their parents with the most distinctive mark being a dark brown "X" (may be irregular or incomplete on some) on their lighter brown or tan back. They begin feeding on small food items like spiders, mites, ticks, pill bugs, ants, and caterpillars. By the end of the summer, they have reached the adult size of about 1 - 1 1/2 inches. As the days cool, the peepers dig into the soft mud near ponds for the winter. Still, during warm spells into the fall they can be confused and emerge to give their spring mating call. • The spring peeper is the most abundant of Michigan's singing frogs and is common statewide. They prefer damp woodlands, swamps, and marshes. However, they still need protection - local populations around small ponds and wetlands can be highly susceptible to surface water runoff. These waters can carry chemicals, pesticides, or silt that can kill adults, eggs, or tadpoles. Good soil erosion practices and the careful application of pesticides and fertilizers are good for spring peepers.
Eastern American Toad (Bufo americanus) • DESCRIPTION: Common "hop toad" of gardens and yards. Brownish skin is very warty. Short, but large and muscular hind legs allow it to move more easily through woodlands and backyards. Throat and belly white speckled with black. Large - 2 to 4 inches long. • HABITAT: Woodlands, shady backyards. Needs a cool daytime shelter, loose soils, and an insect food source (Great for gardens!) • BREEDING: April-May, in woodland ponds or other shallow waters. Eggs laid in long strings. Blackish tadpoles transform into toadlets in June or July. • VOICE: A prolonged trill. • RANGE AND STATUS: Common statewide. • NOTES: Skin secretions are distasteful to predators, but do not cause warts in humans. A beneficial species in gardens, eats many insect pests - a modest-sized toad will eat about 3200 insects in a season. Will frequent night lights.
Northern Leopard Frog (Rana pipiens) • DESCRIPTION: The familiar "meadow frog" with dark round spots on a background of green, greenish brown or brown. Legs may have dark spots or bars. A dark spot is seen above each eye and on the snout. A white line stretches from the nose to the shoulder, above the upper lip. Entirely white underneath. Medium - 2 to 3 1/2 inches long. • HABITAT: Wet meadows, grassy pond and lake edges. May wander well away from water after breeding season. • BREEDING: April-early May, in permanent ponds, marshes, and bogs. Egg masses may hold as many 6000 eggs. Tadpoles transform into frogs by mid summer. • VOICE: A low croaking snore. • RANGE AND STATUS: Found statewide. Once the most abundant frog, but numbers have fallen in recent years for reasons that are unclear. Now rare in some parts of the state.
