Caudata Ambystoma maculatum -- Spotted Salamander
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Purple shade indicates vouchered specimens. Light blue (cyan)
shade indicates photographic records. Yellow shade indicates verified
sighting. Slanted hatch indicates pre-1980 records only
NOTE: Not all specimens upon which these maps are based have been verified.
Key Characters: Two rows of yellow or orange-yellow spots down back from behind eye nearly to tail tip; belly slate gray or black, sometimes with small white flecks.
Similar Species: Tiger salamander.
Description: Stout salamander up to 19 cm TL with bright yellow spots on back and occasionally orange spots on head. Rarely without spots, but unspotted individuals still recognizable by robust build and plain belly. Adpressed limbs usually do not meet, except in juveniles, which have proportionally longer legs. Female 5%-7% longer TL than male but with proportionally shorter tail. Larva uniformly brown, never with dark blotches on back.
Habitat: Deciduous forests with access to vernal pools or fish-free permanent ponds suitable for breeding and larval life.
Natural History: Largely subterranean adults and juveniles are found in burrows, under or in large logs, and under large rocks, where they eat a variety of invertebrates including earthworms, snails, slugs, spiders, millipedes, and insects. They have been observed feeding at night at the mouths of burrows. Reproductive biology similar to Jefferson salamander except that A. maculatum females attach their eggs in dense gelatinous masses of up to 200 on edges of leaves, twigs, and other debris on pond bottom. The synchronous early spring migration of adults to breeding ponds is impressive. Predators of adults include skunks, raccoons, and snakes.
Status: Although locally common in some areas, continuing forest fragmentation could isolate some populations from suitable breeding ponds. Southern and eastern populations are separated from those in the north by the Grand Prairie Division.