Blue-spotted Salamander
(Ambystoma laterale)
Photo Courtesy of Christopher Schierer
The Blue Spotted Salamander is 3 - 5 inches long and has the same long slender body type of the Jefferson Salamander with shorter legs and a narrower snout. They tend to be dark blue to dark gray in color with light blue spots. The belly is lighter colored with dark flecks. The area around the vent is usually black.
From March to April eggs are laid in masses of 6 - 10 eggs or singly on the bottom of ponds attached to vegetation or debris.
Jefferson Salamanders are usually found under logs and other cover in deciduous forests near a swamp or ponds.
The Blue Spotted Salamander will often interbreed with the Jefferson Salamander (A. jeffersonianum) forming what is know as the Jefferson Salamander Complex which can make exact identification extremely difficult.