The state of Michigan is home to 25 species of amphibians. This includes frogs like toads and tree frogs, but also salamanders and newts. Salamanders are a unique group of sometimes vibrantly colored amphibians recognized by their resemblance to a lizard. They are however much more closely related to a frog.
Salamanders can either be semi-aquatic, fully-aquatic, or terrestrial. They range in size from very tiny, to gigantic. Because they can vary in size, so will their diets. Depending on their size and habitat, salamanders will eat small insects worms, slugs, snails, or anything else they can catch.
Now, let’s delve deeper and explore some pictures of salamanders in Michigan, along with unique facts about their behavior and characteristics.
11 Salamanders in Michigan
The 11 species of salamanders in Michigan are the blue-spotted salamander, marbled salamander, four-toed salamander, eastern tiger salamander, eastern newt, mudpuppy, spotted salamander, small-mouthed salamander, red-back salamander, western less siren, and the Tremblay’s salamander.
1. Blue-spotted salamander
Scientific name: Ambystoma laterale
The blue-spotted salamander has a dark bluish-black body covered in lighter bluish-white speckles and spots. This species is considered a mole salamander and is endemic to the great lakes region of the country. In Michigan you’ll find blue-spotted salamanders throughout the state in deciduous and coniferous forests.
While not deadly to humans, blue-spotted salamanders are poisonous just like other salamanders. They are able to secrete poisonous through their skin as a defense against predators. Their bright colors are also a warning sign that they are poisonous.
The blue-spotted salamander has a long tail and can reach 3-5 inches in length as an adult, they are considered somewhat slender for a salamander.
2. Marbled salamander
Scientific name: Ambystoma opacum
The marbled salamander is 3-5 inches in length and dark gray to black with white or gray marbling on their bodies. The stick close to moist environments and are mostly found in forests and wooded regions.
Adult marbled salamanders are nocturnal and breed in the fall unlike other species of salamanders. Marbled salamanders are only found in extreme southwestern Michigan and are listed as threatened in the state.
3. Four-toed salamander
Scientific name: Hemidactylium scutatum
The four-toed salamander is often mistaken for the redback salamander, but the four-toed salamander has a white underbelly sprinkled with black dots. On top they are orange-brown or red-brown in color.
As a self defense against predators they are able to drop their tails as a distraction or even play dead. They’re found throughout most of the state of Michigan, as well as much of the eastern half of the country.
4. Eastern tiger salamander
Scientific name: Ambystoma tigrinum tigrinum
Tiger salamanders are one of the larger species of salamanders in Michigan, growing up to 8 inches in length. They’re found throughout much of the United States, including the lower 2/3 of the state Michigan. Tiger salamanders are rare in the upper peninsula.
They spend much of their lives burrowed underground making them difficult to spot, but they live in a variety of habitats including forests and even grassy open fields. Like most other salamanders, tiger salamanders prefer a moist habitat. Also like other salamanders, the tiger salamander eats small insects and invertebrates. Because of their slightly larger size they are even able to take down small frogs and smaller salamanders.
5. Eastern newt
Scientific name: Notophthalmus viridescens
The eastern newt is a very common salamander in the eastern half of the United States. There are 2 subspecies of the eastern newt found in Michigan, the red-spotted newt in the southeastern part of the state and the central newt to the rest of the state.
Eastern newts live in deciduous and coniferous forests as well as bodies of water with muddy bottoms. They are between 2.5 and 5 inches in length as adults and feed on insects, fish, eggs and larvae, snails, slugs, and worms.
6. Mudpuppy
Scientific name: Necturus maculosus
The mudpuppy is common throughout most areas of central-east and northeast united States. In Michigan you’ll find mudpuppies at the bottoms of ponds, streams, lakes, and other bodies of water throughout the entire state.
Mudpuppies are totally aquatic salamanders but are equipped with both lungs and feathery red aquatic gills, though the lungs are mainly used to help with buoyancy as they never leave the water. They are one of Michigan’s largest species of salamanders and can reach up to 16 inches in length as adults, though most are closer to 11-12 inches.
7. Spotted salamander
Scientific name: Ambystoma maculatum
The spotted salamander is a medium to large salamander that grows to between 6 and 9 inches in length as an adult. The females do grow larger than the males however. They have thick, heavy bodies with a rounded snout. Spotted salamanders are dark brown or black in color with yellow or orange spots all over their bodies.
Spotted salamanders around only found in the eastern half of the United States, though they do not occur in Florida or Southern Georgia. In Michigan they are found throughout the entire state, both the upper and lower peninsula. They live hardwood or mixed forests and prefer sticking close to stagnant water sources and swamps.
8. Small-mouthed salamander
Scientific name: Ambystoma texanum
The small-mouthed salamander has a scattered range throughout several central and midwestern states. In Michigan, this species only occurs in the extreme southeastern corner of the state. Small-mouthed salamanders live in bottomland forests, wetlands, floodplains, and open grasslands in close proximity to bodies of water.
Their diet is very typical of a salamander and includes small insects, crustaceans, mollusks, and other small invertebrates. In appearance the small-mouthed salamander is gray or black with silver speckles. Though they do have a somewhat small head in comparison to the rest of their body, they can reach up to 7 inches in length as adults.
9. Red-backed salamander
Scientific name: Plethodon cinereus
The red-backed salamander is commonly found throughout the Great Lakes region, New England, and Northeast United States. This includes the state of Michigan. They are very common within their range and are completely terrestrial salamanders.
Red-backed salamanders are on the small side and only reach 2-4 inches as adults. They stay hidden in forests and wooded areas underneath rocks, logs, and anything else they can find.
This species feeds mainly on insects but is opportunistic and will eat other types of invertebrates. There are different color morphs of the red-backed salamander, so they may also be yellow-backed, orange-backed, or even white-backed.
10. Western lesser siren
Scientific name: Siren intermedia nettingi
The western lesser siren only occurs in a small area of extreme southwestern Michigan, they are more common in the southeast and along the coastal plain. Western lesser sirens are normally dark brown or black in color but it can vary.
These nocturnal, fully-aquatic salamanders have just 2 small legs directly behind their heads to help guide them underwater. Like the mudpuppy, they are equipped with both gills and lungs. They can range in size from 7 inches all the way to 27 inches making them the largest salamander in Michigan.
11. Tremblay’s salamander
Scientific name: Ambystoma tremblayi
The Tremblay’s salamander occurs in Southern Michigan near Ann Arbor, and in surrounding states like Ohio, Indiana, and Wisconsin. They reach 3.7 to 6.3 inches in length as adults and are dark gray in color with bluish-white markings.
Tremblay’s salamander is a hybrid species of Jefferson salamanders (A. jeffersonianum) and blue-spotted salamanders (A. laterale). The hybridization of these two resulted in two all-female species, the Tremblay’s and silvery salamanders.
Tremblay’s all female salamanders breed only with male blue-spotted salamanders. Eggs are laid singly or in small masses of 6 to 10 eggs on debris at pond bottom from March to April. The males’ genetic material is ignored, his chromosome contribution is only needed to stimulate the egg’s development.
