Spotted Salamanders (Ambystoma maculatum)

The aptly named spotted salamander is one of the most beautiful salamanders in our area and is the selected State Amphibian of South Carolina. They are generally black with two rows of large yellow to yellowish orange spots on their heads, backs, and tails. Spotted salamanders are fairly large, usually 5-7 inches long, but some may be over 9 inches long. The adults feed primarily on invertebrates such as earthworms, insects, and mollusks. Aquatic larvae generally eat small animals such as zooplankton and insect larvae that live in the same pond, but sometimes salamander larvae are cannibals, and they eat other salamanders! Spotted salamanders are common in bottomland forests near floodplains, but also occur in upland forests and in mountainous regions. Like other closely related species of mole salamanders, spotted salamanders spend most of their lives on land and migrate to ponds for breeding. They survive best in ponds that do not contain fish, which will eat larvae.

Adult salamanders migrate to wetland breeding sites on rainy nights in the winter, and may remain at the site for only 3 days before returning to their terrestrial habitats. Females lay their eggs in the water, in clumps or masses, and may deposit over 300 eggs in one mass. After 4-7 weeks the eggs hatch into dull olive green, aquatic larvae without spots; 2-4 months later larvae metamorphose and leave the pond in search of terrestrial habitats. Away from the breeding ponds, spotted salamanders remain underground until the next breeding season. Some spotted salamanders may live more than 30 years, returning to the same pond to breed every year.

Due to the fact that spotted salamanders and other amphibian species live in terrestrial habitats most of their lives, yet breed in nearby wetlands, it is important that we protect both the aquatic and terrestrial habitats that are essential to both stages of the salamander life cycle. In the eastern U.S. the alteration of wetlands, destruction of upland habitat, and stocking of ponds with fish have led to declines in some spotted salamander populations. By maintaining wetlands with forested areas surrounding them, we can help protect spotted salamanders and other species of amphibians.