Redback Salamander

Plethodon cinereus (Green)

This salamander is more of a land creature. It lives in all sorts of moist forests and often invades suburban backyards. Its eggs are laid in damp places under rocks or logs, so there is no aquatic stage at all. Redback Salamanders have no lungs. The animals breathe through their skins, and the lining of the roof of the mouth.

Typical habitat

Three colour phases

Three colour phases are known. The "red-back" is gray-black with a red to orange stripe down the back and tail and is found in all damp forests. The "lead-back" is all gray-black in colour, and is most common in evergreen and mixed woods. Least common is an all-red phase found in hardwood forests of the Cobequid Mountains and North Mountain.

No matter what the colour phase, Redback Salamanders are small about four to five centimetres long and slender. They seem to be fragile. Sometimes the tails break off as you hold them. This may be an adaptation to help the salamander escape from predators that bite and hold its tail. They are not difficult to find, just carefully turn over rocks or logs in damp woods. Always carefully turn the rock or log back, too, to preserve that mini-habitat.

Albino salamander

Portrait of dark phase

Portrait of red phase