conduct cutaneous respiration. During the colder months of the year, the salamanders will spend their time in wet soil close to a source of water where they remain somewhat active in burrows, or in the leaf litter near a stream or other body of water. Geographic range Its distribution ranges from southern Quebec to northern Alabama and extremely northeast Mississippi. There is also an isolated colony in Hamilton County, Ohio. G. p. duryi is present in southern Ohio, eastern Kentucky, West Virginia, and western Virginia. The distribution range of G. p. danielsi is the southern Appalachian Mountains and the adjacent Piedmont from North Carolina to Alabama. G. p. dunni is distributed through the southern portion of the Blue Ridge Province and the Piedmont from southwest North Carolina to eastern to central Alabama. The nominate subspecies, G. p. porphyriticus, occupies the remainder of the geographical range of this species. Reproduction Spring Salamanders commonly breed in late summer into fall. The courtship begins with the male sliding his head over the female's body. From there, a tail-straddle walk begins. This walk entails the female straddling the male's tail while both walk forward. From there, the male deposits the spermatophore on the substrate. The female then picks it up and will store it until ready to fertilize eggs. Once the spermatophore is deposited, the male walks forward with his tail standing straight up. He then proceeds to undulate his tail while the base of the tail touches the chin of the female. This causes the tail's base to rub over most of the female's chin. The females will lay eggs in the summer following their mating. The eggs are sticky when laid and will allow the egg mass to adhere wherever applied. The egg mass can contain between 16-160 eggs. The females will protect this egg mass until they hatch, usually in late summer or early fall. The larvae may stay around the mother after hatching but do not directly depend on her. Larvae for this species remain in this larval stage for multiple years, some up to four years. It takes the post-metamorphosis individual another four years before reaching sexual maturity. Predation and enemies Fish are the main predators of the spring salamander, including the Brook Trout (Salvelinus fontinalis). Survival of the spring salamander is reduced by over 50% in the presence of fingerling brook trout with an even greater reduction in