Characteristics:
A small salamander, only reaching about 4in in length. The sides are dark gray or brown with a red or orange stripe running down their back. Belly is mottled with dark and light speckles. 18-20 costal grooves. Very similar is appearance to the Zigzag salamanders.
Habitat:
Moist forests with plenty of cover to hide under. They are commonly found under rocks in or near woodland streams.
Behavior:
Small and secretive. This salamander moves under ground during the hot dry summer months. Mating takes place in the fall and eggs are laid in the early summer. They are very similar to the zigzag salamanders. This species of red-backed salamander is not found in IL, although there is a red-backed species found there (P. cinereus). The southern red-backed salamanders range is rather fragmented and exists in pockets where they are locally common.
Personal Remarks:
We find these guys just across the river in MO. Strange that we see the zigzags in IL and just across the river we find these guys. They look so similar that, without a good field guide, I would be lost when trying to tell them apart. The whole zigzag / red-back identification and range info is a bit confusing and it is hard to even find reliable information about the ranges of the different species. The fact that there is an eastern red-backed salamander (P. cinereus), which I do not have any pictures of, that lives in IL but not in MO really makes the whole thing a mess to decipher.
A small salamander, only reaching about 4in in length. The sides are dark gray or brown with a red or orange stripe running down their back. Belly is mottled with dark and light speckles. 18-20 costal grooves. Very similar is appearance to the Zigzag salamanders.
Habitat:
Moist forests with plenty of cover to hide under. They are commonly found under rocks in or near woodland streams.
Behavior:
Small and secretive. This salamander moves under ground during the hot dry summer months. Mating takes place in the fall and eggs are laid in the early summer. They are very similar to the zigzag salamanders. This species of red-backed salamander is not found in IL, although there is a red-backed species found there (P. cinereus). The southern red-backed salamanders range is rather fragmented and exists in pockets where they are locally common.
Personal Remarks:
We find these guys just across the river in MO. Strange that we see the zigzags in IL and just across the river we find these guys. They look so similar that, without a good field guide, I would be lost when trying to tell them apart. The whole zigzag / red-back identification and range info is a bit confusing and it is hard to even find reliable information about the ranges of the different species. The fact that there is an eastern red-backed salamander (P. cinereus), which I do not have any pictures of, that lives in IL but not in MO really makes the whole thing a mess to decipher.
