Amphibians
Many-Lined Salamander
Stereochilus marginatus · also called many-lined salamanders
Deep within a mat of sphagnum moss in a southeastern Carolina bay, a many-lined salamander goes about an entire life that will never include a single step on dry land, its gills fully functional from hatching to old age.
Overview
The many-lined salamander, Stereochilus marginatus, is a small, permanently aquatic salamander native to vegetated wetland habitat across the coastal plain of the southeastern United States. Its lifelong retention of gills and close association with dense sphagnum moss make it one of the more specialised and rarely seen wetland salamanders in the region.
A salamander that skips growing up
While most salamanders eventually trade gills and an aquatic lifestyle for lungs and life on land, the many-lined salamander simply never makes that switch, spending its entire existence exactly as it started, tucked into the same vegetated wetland water.
Status
Least Concern — present and stable across suitable vegetated wetland habitat throughout the coastal plain of the southeastern United States.
Many-Lined Salamander: common questions
Does the many-lined salamander ever leave the water?
No, a many-lined salamander retains its gills and remains fully aquatic throughout its entire life, never undergoing the metamorphosis into a land-dwelling adult that most other salamander species go through, a lifestyle it shares with a small number of other permanently aquatic salamanders.
Why is it called the many-lined salamander?
The many-lined salamander displays numerous thin, light stripes running down an otherwise brownish or yellowish body, a distinctly striped pattern that gave the species its descriptive common name.
What kind of wetland does the many-lined salamander prefer?
A many-lined salamander favours still or slow-moving, heavily vegetated wetlands such as swamps, bogs, and Carolina bays, generally avoiding faster-flowing streams in favour of calmer water dense with sphagnum moss and other aquatic plants.
Where does the many-lined salamander live?
The many-lined salamander is native to vegetated wetland habitat across the coastal plain of the southeastern United States, ranging from Virginia south to Florida, generally remaining hidden among dense aquatic vegetation.