Red Salamander - Life History Behavior, Etc.

Life History Behavior, Etc.

Pseudotriton ruber has a wide range in their breeding season, which is only limited by extremely cold temperatures (Petranka 1998). Generally, however, adult Red Salamanders mate annually (Bruce 1978) and engage in primitive courting activities (Organ & Organ 1968).ref name="ref9"/> Organ and Organ observed courtship between two Pseudotriton ruber individuals as the following: "A male approaches a female, rubbing his snout against her snout, cheeks, and chin. The male then moves his head and body under her chin and starts tail undulations. The female then straddles the male’s tail and the pair engages in a straddled “walk” until the male deposits sperm on the substrate. The “straddle-walk” approximately lasts two minutes and once the sperm is deposited, the female picks up the sperm cap as she moves over it and then they separate" (Organ & Organ 1968). Female Pseudotriton ruber are capable of long term sperm storage and may not lay eggs for months after mating (Petranka 1998). Females typically lay eggs in the fall or early winter in headwater streams and have very cryptic nests (Bishop 1941).

Other important behavioral aspects of Pseudotriton ruber include its defensive mechanisms. In regards to mating, males appear to not be aggressive towards one another, but do occasionally court other males as a means of sperm competition to get the other male to deposit spermatophores, giving them a better chance of successful mating over their competitors (Organ & Organ 1968). When threatened, Red Salamanders assume a defensive posture in which they curl their body, elevating and extending their rear, and placing their head under their tail which is elevated and undulated from side to side (Brandon et al. 1979). The coloration of the Red Salamander has been hypothesized to mimic that of the red eft stage of the eastern newt (Notophythalmus viridescens) which emits a powerful neurotoxin in their skin (Howard & Brodie 1971). This hypothesis however was heavily criticized due to significant size differences in the organisms and the differences in the species’ times of foraging ( i.e. Pseudotriton ruber mainly at night and the red eft mainly during the day) (Brandon & Huheey 1975). More recently, biologists argue that since Pseudotriton themselves have reduced palatability they are considered part of a Müllerian mimicry system in which all species are unpalatable and benefit from aposematic coloration (Petranka 1998).