Eastern Tiger Salamander (Ambystoma tigrinum) - Ohio Herp Atlas

Eastern Tiger Salamander Ambystoma tigrinum

Length 7 – 81/4 in. (18-21 cm). Like the smaller Spotted Salamander, Tiger Salamanders are burrowers making sandy or friable soils a key habitat requirement. Occasionally they can be seen during fall rains or during their breeding season in late winter and early spring. The massive migration of adult Tiger Salamanders to larger bodies of water where they breed is a spectacular sight. Once at their breeding grounds, these salamanders engage in an elaborate pushing, nose-rubbing courtship dance during which the male deposits sperm packets. The female takes these into her body to fertilize her eggs. After she lays her eggs, the egg mass swells to the size of a fist. The young salamanders hatch in about three weeks and live as juveniles for a period of two to three years. They eventually lose their external gills and become full adults in July.

Text courtesy of the Ohio Division of Wildlife: https://wildlife.ohiodnr.gov/portals/wildlife/pdfs/publications/id%20guides/pub348.pdf

Distribution Map
Distribution of the Eastern Tiger Salamander (Ambystoma tigrinum)
Photographs
Eastern Tiger Salamander (Ambystoma tigrinum)