***NY- Special Concern***

Identification- 3.5-5.5 in (10-14 cm) SVL 2.5-4.0" (6.4-10.1 cm) A slender mole salamander. The ground color is dark blue to black. Many sky blue specks are interspersed throughout the back, legs, and sides. It has long toes, like the Jefferson Salamander and 12 costal grooves. The venter is black and the area around the vent is also black.
    Similar Species- Jefferson Salamander is twice the size and lighter with a gray belly. The area around the vent is gray in Jefferson and black in Blue-spotted. Also in the Jefferson Salamander any blue flecks are restricted to the sides and legs.  See also Unisexual Ambystoma.
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Range- The Blue-spotted Salamander has not been recorded from Pennsylvania, but is found in all of New York except the southern tier. It is found in the southeast portion of the state, including parts of Long Island.

Habitat- Damp deciduous woodlands. Like all mole salamanders the Blue-spotted Salamander is dependant on stagnant water for breeding. Highest concentrations of this salamander occur in the spring around their breeding sites.

Reproduction- Breeding occurs soon after hibernation usually during the month of March. Eggs are laid in masses of 6-10 eggs on the substrate of their breeding ponds.

General Information-
    Often overshadowed by its close relative the Jefferson Salamander, the Blue-spotted Salamander is interesting in its own right. The frequent hybridization with the Jefferson Salamander belies their close ancestral ties. The differences that show now evolved relatively recently. Blue-spotted Salamanders occur farther north than any salamander in North America.  In my area the Blue-spot is more common that the Jefferson, and likes less wooded, even grassy habitats.  Habits of the two are somewhat similar.  Several Blue-spot populations in Livingston County breed in temporary wetland ponds dominated by rushes and cattails.  Many of those individuals are lost to cars while migrating to their breeding grounds.

Note on Hybridization: See Jefferson Salamander.