Slimy Salamander

The northern slimy salamander is called "slimy" because it produces sticky slime from glands on its lower back and tail in order to defend itself from predators. It is also sometimes referred to as the viscid salamander, grey-spotted salamander, slippery salamander, or sticky salamander, depending on which source is consulted.

P. glutinosus is one of 57 species in the genus Plethodon and was one of the first of its cogeners to be described. The Northern Slimy Salamander is one of 14 species within the Plethodon glutinosus complex. Species within this complex are very similar but vary in habitat range, body size, shape, and proportions.

P. glutinosus is found from New York, west to Illinois, south to Mississippi, and east to Alabama, with isolated populations in southern New Hampshire and northwestern Connecticut.

All plethodontid salamanders are territorial, and fight aggressively for territory. Their preferred habitat is in moist soil or leaf litter beneath stones, rotting logs, or other debris near a permanent water source. They sometimes make use of other animals' burrows. Their diet consists primarily of ants, beetles, sow bugs, and earthworms, but they will consume most kinds of insect. As their name suggests, slimy salamanders produce significant amounts of skin secretions that are highly adhesive. These adhesives bind to predators and can compromise both mastication and locomotion. Whenever threatened they will thrash their tail, exposing the glands that secrete this sticky substance.

Females reach sexual maturity in the second year of life and do not lay eggs until the third year. Breeding of P. glutinosus takes place in the spring and is terrestrial. Courtship consists of the males performing a sort of dance to attract the females' attention. Females lay clutches of four to 12 eggs in a moist area, which she guards, often neglecting food for the period until they hatch. Hatchlings emerge from the eggs in about three months, having no aquatic stage, like many other salamander species. They instead develop directly into their entirely terrestrial adult form. After hatching, young individuals show high growth rates during the summer months and little to no growth during the winter.