page_title: Ambystoma talpoideum
section_title: Behavior
hierarchical_section_title: Ambystoma talpoideum / Behavior
caption_attribution_description: English: An Ambystoma talpoideum (mole salamander) egg mass attached to a tree branch at the University of Mississippi Field Station
context_page_description: Ambystoma talpoideum, the mole salamander, is a species of salamander found in much of the eastern and central United States, from Florida to Texas, north to Illinois, east to Kentucky, with isolated populations in Virginia and Indiana. Older sources often refer to this species as the tadpole salamander because some individuals remain in a neotenic state. This salamander lives among the leaf litter on the forest floor, migrating to ponds to breed.
context_section_description: Primarily nocturnal, the mole salamander is found in habitats of moist forest debris, usually near a permanent source of water. The adult range is up to about 5 square metres (54 sq ft) and the animals migrate to near bodies of water on rainy nights in winter when the breeding season approaches. The eggs are laid in the spring, during heavy rains. Some larvae undergo metamorphosis while others are neotenic and retain their gills. In larger bodies of water where predatory fish like the bluegill (Lepomis macrochirus) are present, metamorphosis is more common. When attacked, adults and juveniles lower their heads to expose their parotoid glands which exude a noxious secretion. This salamander is an opportunistic feeder, eating almost anything smaller than itself which it can overpower, including various arthropods and tadpoles.
caption: One egg mass
exif: {"Image Make": "NIKON CORPORATION", "Image Model": "NIKON D3300", "Image Orientation": "Horizontal (normal)", "Image Software": "Ver.1.00", "Image DateTime": "2018:01:29 09:39:40", "Image YCbCrPositioning": "Centered", "Image Rating": "0", "Image Tag 0x4749": "0", "Image ExifOffset": "2290", "GPS GPSVersionID": "[2, 3, 0, 0]", "Image GPSInfo": "19334", "Image SensitivityType": "Recommended Exposure Index", "Image XPComment": "[32, 0, 32, 0, 32, 0, 32, 0, 32, 0, 32, 0, 32, 0, 32, 0, 32, 0, 32, 0, ... ]", "Image Padding": "[]", "EXIF ExposureTime": "1/3200", "EXIF FNumber": "28/5", "EXIF ExposureProgram": "Unidentified", "EXIF ISOSpeedRatings": "200", "EXIF ExifVersion": "0230", "EXIF DateTimeOriginal": "2018:01:29 09:39:40", "EXIF DateTimeDigitized": "2018:01:29 09:39:40", "EXIF ComponentsConfiguration": "YCbCr", "EXIF CompressedBitsPerPixel": "4", "EXIF ExposureBiasValue": "0", "EXIF MaxApertureValue": "5", "EXIF MeteringMode": "Pattern", "EXIF LightSource": "Unknown", "EXIF Flash": "Flash did not fire, auto mode", "EXIF FocalLength": "55", "EXIF SubSecTime": "00", "EXIF SubSecTimeOriginal": "00", "EXIF SubSecTimeDigitized": "00", "EXIF FlashPixVersion": "0100", "EXIF ColorSpace": "sRGB", "EXIF ExifImageWidth": "6000", "EXIF ExifImageLength": "4000", "Interoperability InteroperabilityVersion": "[48, 49, 48, 48]", "EXIF InteroperabilityOffset": "19296", "EXIF SensingMethod": "One-chip color area", "EXIF FileSource": "Digital Camera", "EXIF SceneType": "Directly Photographed", "EXIF CVAPattern": "[2, 0, 2, 0, 0, 1, 1, 2]", "EXIF CustomRendered": "Normal", "EXIF ExposureMode": "Auto Exposure", "EXIF WhiteBalance": "Auto", "EXIF DigitalZoomRatio": "1", "EXIF FocalLengthIn35mmFilm": "82", "EXIF SceneCaptureType": "Portrait", "EXIF GainControl": "None", "EXIF Contrast": "Normal", "EXIF Saturation": "Normal", "EXIF Sharpness": "Normal", "EXIF SubjectDistanceRange": "0", "EXIF Padding": "[]", "EXIF OffsetSchema": "4180"}