2025 MURAL SPECIES!
marbled salamander
Ambystoma opacum
STATUS:
US STATUS: No Status/Not Listed
MI STATUS: E - Endangered (Legally Protected)
Description:
The Marbled Salamander is a medium-sized (3.4 - 5 inches adult length), thick-bodied salamander with white or gray bands across a black to dark brown-black body. The belly may be black or brownish black, occasionally with some light speckling. Newly transformed juveniles are brown or black with scattered light markings which may start out yellowish and become bluish to silvery white once out of the water. The juveniles acquire the crossbanded pattern of the adults after several weeks or months.
Habitat and Occurrence
If you’re looking to find a Marbled Salamander for yourself, check within the following ecosystems within the green counties on the map!
All information on this page is generously provided by the Michigan Natural Features Inventory (MNFI). For more information about Marbled Salamanders - visit the species description here: mnfi.anr.msu.edu/marbled-salamander. To learn more about Michigan’s biodiversity, ecological communities and natural heritage, visit mnfi.anr.msu.edu
get involved with marbled
salamander conservation!
While there are currently no Community Science projects specifically operating to benefit the preservation of Marbled Salamanders in Michigan, there are many organizations who work to protect the habitats where they reside! Volunteer with some of these organizations and help protect the habitat that Marbled Salamanders need in order to survive.
report an observation
MNFI stewards the Michigan Natural Heritage Database and track observations of some of Michigan’s rarest forms of life to fully understand the population and range of rare species to protect biodiversity in Michigan. If you have encountered a Marbled Salamander, you can share the location information with these trusted conservation professionals here: mnfi.anr.msu.edu/species/report