Blue-spotted Salamander

Distinguishing Features – Medium sized. Colouration, shiny black dorsal color that may vary from dark blue-black to a lighter gray-black; conspicously marked with light blue flecks on the sides and tail. Four toes on front feet and five toes on hind feet. Costal grooves number 12.

Size

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10 – 14 cm (4 – 5.5 in)

Habitat

Found in Northwestern Ontario on the Sibley peninsula and near Lake Superior from Thunder Bay south to Minnesota. A forest dweller; moist soil with small ponds are important habitat elements. They are very elusive and effectively take shelter under fallen, rotten logs, in leaf litter, moss, and other debris providing the soil is damp.

Breeding

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Blue-spotted Salamanders are early spring breeders and can be found in ponds in early May. Eggs are laid singly or in small clusters of about a dozen attached to plants or submersed logs. The larvae grow in the pond until transformation in late summer.

Notes

The Blue-spotted salamander’s diet consists of earthworms, insects of various types, spiders, and snails.

The species overwinters beneath logs and rocks near the water’s edge.