The Small-mouthed Salamander has a relatively small head and a blunt tail. They have a relatively small head and a blunt tail. The head, limbs, body, and tail of this salamander are uniform dark brown to black with irregular lichen-like mottling of gray, gray-yellow, or light brown. The belly is gray-black with tiny light flecks in some specimens. During the breeding season, females can be recognized by their heavier bodies and males exhibit swollen cloaca! lips. Females have slightly larger bodies than males, but males have proportionately larger tails than females.
Adults normally 100-140 mm (4-5½ inches) in total length. The largest specimen from
Kansas is a female (KU 218583) from Douglas County with a snout-vent length of 92 mm and a total length of 171
mm (6¾ inches) collected by Kevin R. Toal on 26 March 1991. The maximum length
throughout the range is 190.5 mm (7½ inches) (Powell et al. 2016).
This amphibian is abundant from the Missouri River bluffs in the Glaciated Region south and west through the Osage Cuestas to the southern portions of the Flint Hills and Low Plains.
This salamander generally spends most of the summer and winter months beneath the ground, where there is sufficient moisture and a temperature warm enough to prevent it from drying up or freezing. It emerges from the ground in early spring, breeds, and disperses to moist areas beneath rocks and logs or returns underground. In Franklin County, Gloyd (1928) found a specimen in a crayfish hole near a pond. In Osage County, Clarke (1956) found adults in a horse tank and a single young adult under a small rock in the bed of a tiny prairie stream. Clarke et al. (1958) reported finding adults in wells, basements, and moist woods in Lyon County.
After rains from mid-January to early April, these salamanders migrate to and congregate at breeding sites. In Franklin County, Gloyd (1928) recorded them breeding in shallow pasture streams that connect temporary grassy ponds and found newly hatched larvae and eggs on 1 March. In Lyon County, Clarke et al. (1958) reported that breeding occurs in sloughs and rocky prairie streams. Collins (1974) observed breeding migrations of these salamanders crossing dirt roads to enter roadside ditches and pools from January through April and found eggs in these same roadside ditches as early as 25 January. Plummer (1977) reported breeding migrations of Smallmouth Salamanders in Douglas County during March and April. In Allen County, Travis W. Taggart (pers. comm., 1989; Collins 1993) observed 34 Smallmouth Salamanders en route to a breeding site during a light rain between 2300 and 0130 hours on 11-12 March at an air temperature of 8.9°C (48°F). Taggart (1992) recorded the earliest and latest dates of spring migrations (presumably to and from breeding sites) of this salamander in the following counties: Allen (21 January and 4 April) ; Bourbon (17 March) ; Douglas (18 February and 16 March); Neosho (17 March); Leavenworth (28 February) ; Jefferson (7 March) ; and Shawnee (7 March); he also observed this amphibian active on 5 November in Douglas County.
Courtship at the breeding site is initiated by the male nudging
and pushing the female with his snout. He then swims away from
her and deposits spermatophores. The female swims over a spermatophore
and mounts it with her cloacal opening. According to Smith
(1934, 1956), up to 700 gelatinous eggs may be laid by a female.
Plummer (1977) recorded a range of 341 to 896 ovarian eggs in female Smallmouth Salamanders from Douglas County. A female
from Douglas County, captured in April and maintained in an
aquarium, deposited 96 eggs (Collins, 1993).
These eggs may be laid singly, in small clumps of three or four, or in
long strings. The eggs hatch within a few weeks, and the gilled,
pond-type larvae remain in the water when the adults leave in late
March or April. Approximately two months after hatching, the larvae
metamorphose into young adults and emerge from the water to
begin a terrestrial existence.
Plummer (1977) reported that earthworms make up a major
portion of the diet of the Smallmouth Salamander in Douglas
County, but also found centipedes, spiders, weevils, and beetle fragments.
Primarily inhabit forested bottomlands, adjacent prairies, and associated wetlands. They generally remain hidden in burrows or under cover of leaves, logs, or thatch but move en masse during periods of heavy rain or high humidity year-round. They breed in temporary shallow bodies of water in spring.
First reported from Kansas by Jordan (1878), no specific locality given. The earliest existing specimens (KU 952-3) were collected by Frank A. Hartman at Haskell Bottoms in Douglas County on 12 March 1904.
Most easily collected on rainy spring nights as they travel across roads (often in great concentrations) to and from breeding sites (Rundquist 1979). Larval specimens are occasionally seined from small fishless ponds and ditches through the summer.
Gloyd (1932) discovered two specimens in the damp earth under stones in Miami County on 6 April 1929.
The Smallmouth Salamander exhibits an interesting defensive behavior. When touched or molested, it raises its tail and waves it laterally. Presumably this action would distract a predator's attention from the salamander's head. Loss of the tail to a predator would allow the salamander more time to escape.
Based on a captive specimen, Snider and Bowler (1992) reported a maximum longevity for this salamander of thirteen years, ten months, and 23 days.
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