Blue-spotted Salamander

Key Characteristics: Black or grayish black with many blue or bluish-white spots on sides, back and tail; toes long.

Adults: 0-14 cm. Blue-spotted Salamanders are medium-sized mole salamanders, black or grayish black with distinct blue or bluish-white spots and flecks on the limbs, back, and the sides of the trunk and tail. The belly is typically black , but within the hybrid zone with Jefferson Salamanders it may be slightly paler than the sides. The vent is black .

Similar species: Jefferson Salamanders are larger and paler and the light marking are confined to bluish flecks on the sides and limbs. Outside the hybrid zone the belly of the Jefferson Salamander is distintly paler then the sides, whereas the belly of the Blue-spotted salamander is black. Inside the hybrid zone the vent of the Jefferson Salamander is paler than the blackish vent of the Blue-spotted.

Larvae: Older larvae are brown, greenish-brown, or gray dorsally with dark mottling on the tail fin, sometimes with pale yellow blotches or stripes on the back. The belly is usually pale and unmarked.

Eggs: Eggs are laid singly or in small clusters (2-12 or so), attached to sticks, vegetation, or other submerged substrate, or are deposited directly in the bottom sediments.

Distribution: The Blue-spotted Salamander ranges from Labrador southwest through Manitoba, southeast through the Great Lakes Basin and northeast to northern New Jersey. Thoughout much of the southern part of this range lies a zone of hybridization with the Jefferson Salamander.

Habitat: Blue-spotted Salamanders occupy coniferous, mixed and deciduous forest, in moist lowlands to moderately dry uplands. In western New York they appear to be more abundant in bottomland forest and wooded swamps.

Ecology: Although they spend much of their time in burrows or under rocks, logs, and leaf litter, this species is found above ground more often than many other Ambystoma salamanders. Blue-spotted salamanders appear to be more tolerant of disturbance than are Spotted Salamanders and can be found in small forest patches and occasionaly in oldfields and suburban areas. Vernal pools are a critical component of their habitat.

Reproduction: Breeding occurs in late March and early April, typically following spring rains. In some parts of there range they prefer grassy floodplain wetlands for breeding, but they will use ponds on the edges of open fields, swamps, and roadside ditches. Eggs are deposited either singly or in small clumps, and are attached to litter on the bottom or are deposited freely in the sediment. Hatching occurs about a month after the eggs are laid, and the aquatic larvae transform into terrestrial adults in late June to mid-August, depending on the permanency of the pond?as in other species, development can be hastened in drying ponds.

This species forms a complex of all-female triploid hybrids with the closely-related Jefferson salamander (A. jeffersonianum). Reproduction in these hybrids is dependent on the presence of male Ambystoma salamanders?one of the parental species or, in some cases, another species altogether?in that egg development involves contact with sperm.