(Ambystoma macrodactylum)
The Long-Toed Salamander can be found on Vancouver Island. It is secretive and shelters under decaying logs, rotting stumps, or in piles of wet wood that have fallen from snags.
The semi-aquatic Long Toed Salamander is a medium-sized amphibian with a total length that can reach up to about 16.5 cm. A broad yellow stripe runs down from the neck to the tail tip, where it often turns into blotches. The sides are black or dark gray with light flecking.
The female-toed salamander will lay small clusters of up to 30 eggs in ponds or shallow edges of lakes in early spring. The egg masses are laid on aquatic vegetation. Individual eggs are 2 mm in diameter. The aquatic larva has external gills on each side of the head to allow breathing underwater. The gills appear orderly, with side filaments gradually shortening towards the tip.
The head is large with a broad snout. The legs are quite slim. Larvae are brownish-grey or tan with fine, darker flecking. They usually morph into terrestrial forms in the late summer of the same year. At some localities, they retain larval characteristics into adulthood and never leave the water.
The Adult Long-toed Salamander feeds on a variety of invertebrates, including slugs, worms, and insects. Smaller larvae eat tiny water crustaceans (zooplankton), but as they grow, they will begin to eat invertebrates, frog tadpoles, and often other smaller salamander larvae.
Like all amphibians, the long-toed salamander can absorb water and oxygen through its skin. It lives on land and water at various stages of its life. They are very sensitive to changes in their habitats, and the long-toed salamanders are early indicators of environmental problems.