Length 3 1/2 – 4 1/2 in. (9-11.5 cm). The male’s bright white bands on a black body and the female’s grayish- white on black make this one of our more distinctively marked salamanders. However, a rare individual may lack the white bands which complicates an otherwise easy identification. Marbled Salamanders make their homes in a variety of habitats from dry wooded slopes to moist sandy areas. They are fond of hiding under rocks and logs on wooded slopes, sometimes in surprisingly dry places. Marbled Salamanders are distributed along some of the lakeshore counties, but are more common in southern Ohio. Marbled Salamanders breed in the fall. They migrate to low-lying wooded areas and swamps to perform their courtship. They differ from other mole salamanders in that their courtship takes place on land rather than in water. Females lay eggs under logs or other debris along the sides of dried up temporary ponds. The female remains with the eggs until the autumn rains refill the pool, causing the eggs to hatch.
Text courtesy of the Ohio Division of Wildlife: https://wildlife.ohiodnr.gov/portals/wildlife/pdfs/publications/id%20guides/pub348.pdf
