to engage in tail-straddle walk, which is the phase in courtship where insemination occurs. This course of behaviors from both individuals will lead to successful copulation. Copulation Ocoee salamanders do internal fertilization. When a female is ready for mating, the male uses a spermatophore to transfer his sperm to a female. A spermatophore is a gelatinous capsule containing spermatozoa, and it is accepted into the female's reproductive organ, the cloaca, where it is stored until fertilization. The male typically leads the female to the spermatophore for her to pick it up. Number of mates Ocoee salamanders do internal fertilization and thus postcopulatory sexual selection plays an important role in their reproduction. In adult Desmognathus ocoee, the mating period lasts from early fall to late spring. Females tend to engage in multiple matings throughout these 9 months, and store sperm in their bodies for extensive periods. This means that a clutch of female eggs can be fertilized by stored sperm from multiple competing males. Usually it is around two to three males. Sperm competition within males is thus an important aspect of sexual selection. Sperm from the males are stored in spermatheca, an organ in the female’s reproductive tract, until June and July, during which ovulation, fertilization, and oviposition all occur rapidly. Until the fertilization event, sperm require hospitable conditions to survive in, and are stored in the spermatheca, where they remain viable. Females that experience courtship that ends with successful insemination do not become inseminated when they encounter sexually active males for about four nights after the first insemination. This is caused by a temporary inhibition of female sexual responsiveness, which happens during the initial insemination. Upon the female taking in the spermatophore into her reproductive tract, the sperm mass remains externally visible in the female’s cloaca for around 38 hours. This extended stay of the sperm mass likely results in tactical and chemical stimulation, which inhibits the female's sexual responsiveness and her willingness to perform behavioral patterns necessary for successful courtship and sperm transfer. Ultimately, this seems to be a mechanism developed in males to compete with other males for egg fertilization. Parental care Oviposition Oviposition occurs from June to September on land, after which the female tends her clutch of 9–32 eggs for 6–8 weeks. Clutch sizes can vary from female to female, and is closely related to the body size of the female. During oviposition, females tend