PROTECTING WISCONSIN'S BIODIVERSITY

 
 
 
   
 
Scientific Name Common Name Global Rank State Rank Federal Status WI Status Animal Group

Four-toed Salamander (Hemidactylium scutatum)

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Photo by A.B. Sheldon

 

Counties with Mapped NHI Occurrences

Four-toed Salamander (Hemidactylium scutatum), a Special Concern species, prefers hardwood forests with ephemeral ponds, alder thickets, and sedge meadows, and to a lesser degree, conifer swamps. It overwinters from November through late-March by burrowing underground to avoid freezing. Mating can occur in fall or spring at breeding ponds, seepage pools, or springs. In April, females move to microhabitats of dense mosses, usually sphagnum, overhanging the water's edge or dense mosses on downed woody debris overlying the water. Four-toed salamanders will also nest in inundated sedge tussock wetlands when mosses are not present. This species' unique nesting microhabitats appear to limit their abundance. Females remain with their eggs until they hatch in late-May or June. Larvae drop into the water where they live until transforming in about six weeks. Four-toed salamanders remain active through November.

 
 
 

Species of Greatest Conservation Need (SGCN) are associated with habitats (or natural communities) and places on the landscape. Understanding relationships among SGCN, natural communities and ecological landscapes help us make decisions about issues affecting SGCN and their habitat and how to respond. Download the Wildlife Action Plan association score spreadsheet to explore rare species, natural communities and ecological landscape associations

Conservation actions respond to issues or threats, which adversely affect species of greatest conservation need (SGCN) or their habitats. Besides actions such as restoring wetlands or planting resilient tree species in northern communities, research, surveys and monitoring are also among conservation actions described in the Wisconsin Wildlife Action Plan because lack of information can threaten our ability to successfully preserve and care for natural resources.