Introducing

Frosted Flatwoods Salamander

Ambystoma cingulatum

The wild behind the wear
Here is what you need to know.

The frosted flatwoods salamander is one of the most elusive amphibians in the American Southeast. It spends most of its life underground in burrows and root channels, and generally emerges with the fall and winter rains to breed near small, isolated seasonal wetlands. Since 2000, the species has lost more than 90% of its total population.

The salamander's story is tied to the longleaf pine savanna, a fire-dependent ecosystem that once blanketed the southeastern coastal plain and now covers a fraction of its former range. Longleaf pine savannas once dominated the coastal Southeast, but now only three percent of this ecosystem remains. As this habitat has declined, so too has the salamander's abundance.

Range

Southeastern coastal plain of the United States, including parts of Florida, Georgia, and South Carolina, east of the Apalachicola-Flint Rivers.

Habitat

pine flatwood forests | grassland savanna | wetlands

Conservation Status

Threatened under the Endangered Species, state designations of Endangered in South Carolina and Threatened in Georgia. Listed as Vulnerable on the IUCN Red List.

Meet the species
From the Field Guide.

The frosted flatwoods salamander is a slender, small-to-medium-sized amphibian measuring roughly three to five inches long, about the length of a coloring crayon. Its dark, grayish-black body is overlaid with dappled silvery white markings, creating the frosted appearance that gives the species its name.

The salamander spends its life in longleaf pine forests and savannas that flood and dry with the changing seasons. It breeds near shallow, temporary ponds, laying its eggs in the dry basin before the rains come. As the water rises with the seasonal rain, the eggs hatch and the young remain in the aquatic environment until they have matured. Once they have reached adulthood, they transition to land and live underground in burrows and root channels, where they feed on earthworms, spiders, and insects.

The breeding ponds typically dry out each summer, which is essential to the species' survival. The seasonal drying clears away fish and other predators that would otherwise remain all year round and eat the vulnerable young.

The threats they're up against.

The species faces a wide array of stressors, including habitat loss and degradation, increasingly severe and unpredictable weather conditions such as drought, incompatible land use, development, and management practices, off-road vehicle use, and introduced diseases. 

The salamander evolved with a predictable seasonal pattern characterized by a dry fall that drew down the ponds and kept them free of predatory fish, followed by a wet winter that provided essential water for the development of young salamanders. As weather patterns become more variable and extreme, the ecosystem that the salamander depends on becomes less sustaining. Under extreme flood conditions, the ponds may not dry out as they once did, enabling fish to become established and prey on the young salamanders. Alternatively, under multi-year drought conditions, the wetlands may remain dry during the breeding season. In ideal conditions, the salamander eggs wait for the water level to rise before hatching. But when the water does not come during this critical stage, breeding success is severely inhibited.

While longleaf pine savannas historically dominated the coastal Southeast, only three percent of this ecosystem remains today. Historically, lightning strikes ignited fires that would sweep through the landscape. These fires would clear a variety of shrubs and hardwoods, helping to maintain the grassy savannas and open wetlands the salamanders depend on for breeding and development. However, conventional fire management practices negatively impacted this natural cycle, enabling shrubs and trees that would have historically burned to become established in the wetlands and grassy areas.

Let's have some fun
Because the more you know, the more you love.

Salamanders are an amphibious species. The term amphibian describes their unique life cycle and comes from the ancient Greek word amphíbios, meaning "both kinds of life," from amphí (on both sides) and bíos (life). The flatwoods salamander's life is no exception. Born to swim, the larvae emerge without any legs and breathe using their gills. Over time, and through a process called metamorphosis, their bodies change to prepare for adulthood. During this transition, they grow legs and develop lungs, which enables them to live out the rest of their lives on land.
Finding love in the wild.

In the wild, courtship is serious business. Some sing for it, some dance for it, some build for it, every species does it a little differently. Meet our singles, each one hoping to make it official (or at least make it to mating season).
Wade

Wade

Tallahassee, Florida

Homebody Vinyl Lover Proud Introvert

About Me

I keep a pretty low profile. Bad at group chats, but when it counts, I always show up right on time.

Details

Interests Storm chasing, fireside chats, indie films and record stores
Favorite Food Whatever's serving at the local dive bar
Favorite Song "I Will Wait" by Mumford & Sons
Green Flags Plugged into the underground music scene, supports local artists, enjoys solitude, knows patience is a virtue
Zodiac Sign Pisces
Swipe Left Swipe Right

Every purchase makes an impact

10% of the proceeds from the frosted flatwoods salamander piece go directly to the Amphibian and Reptile Conservancy (ARC) in support of frosted flatwoods salamander recovery. ARC is restoring frosted flatwoods salamander habitat by clearing invasive shrubs from wetlands, surveying for unknown populations, and launching a headstarting program to raise larval salamanders past their most vulnerable stage before releasing them into the wild.
The Frostie Necklace
The Frostie Necklace
The Frostie Necklace
The Frostie Necklace
The Frostie Necklace

The Frostie Necklace

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Resources
Go deeper in the deets.

Did you fall a little in love? Same. There's so much to learn about these creatures, and we could go on about them forever. Good thing there's plenty more where this came from: the sources below will happily take it from here.