Reproduction: The four-toed salamander breeds in the fall and lay their eggs the following spring. Eggs are laid on land under rotting wood or sphagnum moss where they develop in the egg before breaking out and wriggling their way to a water source. Here, they live as aquatic larva and within 20-30 days will go through metamorphosis becoming a terrestrial adult. Four toed salamander larva can be best identified by their small gills and a dark mask. They often resemble newt larva but are smaller and don’t tend to occupy the same area, four toed salamanders prefer temporary vernal pools and sphagnum bogs free of fish, while newts occupy more permanent bodies of water
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Antifungal Agent: Four-toed salamanders have been observed nesting communally with multiple females depositing eggs in the same area. These nests have been found to have a higher survival rate compared to those that nest individually, This is due to the higher amount of antifungal bacteria. This bacteria grows on the skin of the four-toed salamander and with more females in a given area, more bacteria can be found in the local area, including on the eggs. The eggs of four-toed salamanders are often plagued by Mariannaea sp. a fungal pathogen that is known to kill the developing embryo. The bacteria that grows on the skin of adults however, hinders the growth of this fungus, it does not stop it altogether but greatly increases the survival of infected eggs.
Sources:
Banning, Jenifer L., et al. "Antifungal Skin Bacteria, Embryonic Survival, and Communal Nesting in Four-Toed Salamander, Hemidactylium scutatum." Springer Link, Oecologia, 12 Mar. 2008, link.springer.com/article/10.1007%2Fs00442-008-1002-5. Accessed 4 Nov. 2021. "Four-Toed Salamander." Ontario Nature, 2021, ontarionature.org/programs/community-science/reptile-amphibian-atlas/four-toed-salamander/. Accessed 4 Nov. 2021. Mills, Peter B. Metamorphosis. self-published, 2016, pp. 42-45. |