Yellow Spotted Salamanders
Common Name:Yellow-spotted salamander
Scientific Name:Ambystoma maculatum
Unique Qualities: They are large, blackish salamanders with bright yellow to orange spots decorating its upper parts from head to tail. In the early spring, large numbers of these salamanders travel to breeding ponds to mate. The rest of the year is spent mostly underground.
Can be Seen: You can find salamanders in regions ranging from south central Ontario to Nova Scotia, south to Georgia and eastern Texas.
Likes to Hang Out: Yellow-spotted salamanders usually gather in woodland ponds or roadside ditches to breed.
Likes to Eat: These salamanders feed on worms, beetle larvae and small insects that live in the leaf litter of the forest floor. The adult salamander and its larvae are hunted by fish, snakes, crows, muskrats and larger mammals such as foxes and even bears.
Status: The yellow spotted salamander is currently widespread and locally common. However, habitat loss and pesticide use may reduce numbers in populations.
Interesting Fact: The word "salamander" originates from an ancient belief that these animals were fire lovers. This was perhaps based on seeing such a creature, when the log in which it had taken cover was placed in a bonfire, escaping, rather than emerging, from the fire -- a significant difference missed by early observers.
Another Fact:In Amherst, Massachusetts they built a tunnel for Yellow Spotted Salamanders. They built it because many salamanders had been crossing the road, while migrating, and getting run over by cars.
Name: Cheche (Sheh-shh)
Name: Selona Sky