Lloyd Gamble, a biologist at the University of Massachusetts, has been studying the life history of the Marbled Salamander and the habitats it needs to survive. Black with bold silvery-white patterning, marbled salamanders are about 4 inches long and look like something you'd buy in a toy store. Although found throughout the eastern U.S., they're near the northern edge of their range in Massachusetts, where they're listed as a threatened species. But, even where marbled salamanders are common, they're seldom seen. That's because they spend most of their lives underground, only making open-air excursions on wet, rainy nights. Unlike any other amphibian in our area, marbled salamanders breed in the fall. After an a courtship "dance" and mating, the female finds a moist hollow under the leaf litter where she'll lay a cluster of 50 to 200 eggs. And, then she guards the eggs until the water level rises from fall rains.