Getting to Know the Blue-Spotted Salamander
The blue-spotted salamander is known by the scientific name Ambystoma laterale and is found in the northeastern parts of the US and in the Great Lakes area. It is also to be seen in Quebec and Ontario in Canada. The blue-spotted salamander can handle cooler temperatures. It is considered State Endangered in Ohio and Iowa, and is listed as a Species of Concern in Indiana.
This mole salamander is anywhere from 8 to 14 inches in length with its tail being about 40 percent of its length. It gets its name from the blue spots on flecks that can be seen on its blue-black skin. There are also some lighter blue spots on the sides of this salamander. The blue-spotted salamander is thin although not as slim as the Jefferson salamander. They have a black colored vent which makes for an interesting contrast with the pale underside of these salamanders. Individuals of this species are found to turn bluer as a particular salamander becomes more terrestrial. This salamander has four long toes on the front feet and five toes on the hind feet. Male blue-spotted salamanders are smaller than the females. Males of the species have the longer and flatter tails. This salamander has 12-14 grooves on the sides of its body and these are called costal grooves.
The habitat of the blue-spotted salamanders is typically deciduous forests of hardwood trees which are damp and moist; they also like swamp-like woodlands. You can also sometimes find them in coniferous forests and fields or meadows. They particularly enjoy being in mossy green ponds where there is likely to be water in the warmer months as this makes for a good place for breeding. Leafy underbrush, logs and rocks are popular sheltering places for the blue-spotted salamander in which ever terrain it occupies. These are also good places to find their typical diet which consists of spiders, worms, insects and small invertebrates.
Breeding season is early spring and the blue-spotted salamander starts mating at two years of age. A female can lay up to 500 eggs in any given year and each clutch is said to average about 12 eggs. A small collection of eggs is laid each time and they are likely to be left attached to rocks, twigs or even plants close to a pond or ditch. It takes a month or so for the eggs to hatch and the larvae that emerges has fully developed eyes and mouth. Two weeks later you will be able to see the front limbs and a further week will pass before the appearance of the hind legs. So by the time summer rolls around, the young blue-spotted salamander will be ready to become terrestrial.
The blue-spotted salamander is known to hybridize with other salamander varieties in nature and one of the common partners is the Jefferson salamander.
The defense posture of the blue-spotted salamander is one of its interesting characteristics. When this salamander senses danger it secretes a noxious substance from two glands which are located at the base of its tail while it lashes the tail around. If the predator manages to get past this and still attack, the salamander is capable of detaching its tail and so the attacker may be left holding nothing but the tail. So, the blue-spotted salamander is capable of escaping even from tight situations and it can easily re-grow its tail later.
Given that this salamander lives in forest land, logging operations are more dangerous for its survival than any predators. This is particularly true in cases where forests are being razed to the ground for construction. If there is no forest, the natural habitat of these forest floor dwellers will be destroyed forever. Draining of swampy land or road construction that prevents them from getting to vernal ponds can also significantly harm the breeding of the blue-spotted salamander and this can threaten the continuation of this species.