Description: The spotted salamander is about 5.9 to 9.8 inches long. With Females generally being larger than males. They are stout, like most mole salamanders, and have wide snouts. The spotted salamander's main color is black, but can sometimes be a blueish-black, dark gray, dark green, or even dark brown. Two uneven rows of yellowish-orange spots run from the top of the head (near the eyes) to the tip of the tail (dorso-lateral ranging). The spotted salamander's spots near the top of its head are more orange, while the spots on the rest of its body are more yellow. The underside of the spotted salamander is slate gray and pink. Sexual dimorphism, physical differences between males and females, is displayed in the form of larger-bodied females having brighter-coloured spots.
Habitat: This species can be found in hardwood and mixed forests, vicinity of swamps and vernal pools; usually underground or under soil surface objects except during the breeding period. This species prefers lowland forests; they are occasionally found in more open habitats such as meadows, but usually near forest edges. Although not typically a montane species, spotted salamanders can occur at higher elevations when suitable breeding sites are available. In New York, distribution apparently is influenced by soil pH. Eggs are usually attached to submerged stems or other objects in vernal pools and semi permanent or permanent ponds in or adjacent to forest. In many areas, the species breeds mainly in ponds inaccessible to predatory fishes; however on the Atlantic Coastal Plain of the southeastern USA, spotted salamanders breed in sloughs or backwater lowland areas along streams that frequently contain or are easily colonized by predatory fishes that opportunistically feed on amphibian larvae. Eggs may be laid in ponds when they are ice-covered if salamanders already are present in the pond. Egg masses often exhibit an aggregated dispersion pattern. This species seems tolerant of habitat disturbance.
Range: This species occurs throughout most of the eastern United States of America and adjacent southern Canada; west to eastern Iowa and eastern Texas.
Diet: Spotted salamanders feed on earthworms, slugs, snails, spiders, millipedes, centipedes, insects, algae and other invertebrates. They sometimes also feed on smaller salamanders, such as the red-backed salamander. The adult spotted salamander uses its sticky tongue to catch food.
Reproduction: Males will start a dance like behavior called a liebsspiel, where afterward they lay down their spermatophore. Males will migrate at higher rates than females early in the migration season. This could be due to different responses to temperature between males and females. Mates usually breed in ponds when it is raining in the spring. Females usually lay about 100 eggs in one clutch that cling to the underwater plants and form egg masses.
The egg masses are round, jelly-like clumps that are usually 2.5 to 4 inches long. The spotted salamander produces a unique polymorphism in the outer jelly layers of its egg masses: one morph has a clear appearance and contains a water-soluble protein, whereas the other morph is white and contains a crystalline hydrophobic protein. This polymorphism is thought to confer advantages in vernal pools with varying dissolved nutrient levels, while also reducing mortality from feeding by wood frog larvae.
Adults only stay in the water for a few days, then the eggs hatch in one to two months. When the eggs hatch depends on the water temperatures. Eggs of A. maculatum can have a symbiotic relationship with the green alga Oophila amblystomatis. A dense gelatinous matrix surrounds the eggs and prevents the eggs from drying out, but it inhibits oxygen diffusion (required for embryo development). The Oophila alga provides increased oxygen and supplemental nutrition from fixed carbon products via photosynthesis and removes the embryo's nitrogenous waste (ammonia) in the egg capsule, aiding in the salamander's embryonic development and growth. The developing salamander thus metabolizes the oxygen, producing carbon dioxide (which then the alga consumes). Photosynthetic algae are present within the egg capsule of the developing salamander embryo, enhancing growth. However, the widely used herbicide, atrazine, has been found to significantly lower hatching success rate by eliminating the symbiotic algae associated with the egg masses.
Status: Listed as Least Concern in view of its wide distribution, presumed large population, and use of varied and altered habitats.
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Disclaimer: ITIS taxonomy is based on the latest scientific consensus available, and is provided as a general reference source for interested parties. However, it is not a legal authority for statutory or regulatory purposes. While every effort has been made to provide the most reliable and up-to-date information available, ultimate legal requirements with respect to species are contained in provisions of treaties to which the United States is a party, wildlife statutes, regulations, and any applicable notices that have been published in the Federal Register. For further information on U.S. legal requirements with respect to protected taxa, please contact the U.S. Fish and Wildlife Service.
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