Description: It is a small (9 to 13.5 cm total length), elongated species of mole salamander. It has a small, indistinct head, short legs, and a long, rounded tail. Typical coloration consists of a background of brownish- to purplish-black overlaid with narrow gray or silvery-white reticulations (net-like markings), bands, or diffuse spotting. The gilled aquatic larvae are distinctly colored, having a series of bold brown and yellow longitudinal stripes.

Habitat: The frosted flatwoods salamander breeds in shallow, ephemeral ponds, generally characterized by an overstory of pond cypress (Taxodium ascendens) and black tupelo (Nyssa sylvatica var. biflora) and a diverse understory of native grasses and herbs.

Range: The frosted flatwoods salamander has a very narrow geographic distribution, occurring only in the southeastern coastal plain of the United States. It inhabits seasonally wet pine flatwoods and pine savannas east of the Apalachicola River in northern Florida, southern South Carolina, and southern Georgia.

Found in these States: FL | GA | SC

Diet: Adult salamanders spend most of the year underground in burrows, especially those of crayfish, where they are presumed to feed on a variety of small invertebrates, but the few existing prey records are mostly earthworms.

Reproduction: Courtship occurs within dry pond basins or very shallow water, where the female accepts a spermatophore that has been deposited on the substrate by the male. Females lay 100 to 200 eggs, placing them in small groups of 1 to 12, usually within carpets of herbaceous vegetation or in the entrances of crayfish burrows in the dry pond basin. Embryos develop quickly within the egg capsule and will hatch in response to inundation by rising water levels in the pond basins. The larval period lasts 11 to 24 weeks, with metamorphs leaving the breeding ponds from April to June. Sexual maturity is approximately 1 to 2 years for males and 2 to 3 years for females.

Status: This assessment takes a precautionary approach in listing the species as Endangered because of a significant population decline, suspected to be at least 40% and possibly up to 60% over the past 10 years, based on the negative consequences of climate change in the form of prolonged droughts and severe storm events as well as from a deterioration in habitat quality as a result of fire suppression.

Taxonomy: