In Search of Blue-spotted Salamanders

Dedicated exclusively to field herping.

Moderator: Scott Waters

Post Reply
qaz
Posts: 88
Joined: December 27th, 2012, 9:09 am

In Search of Blue-spotted Salamanders

Post by qaz »

First of all, Happy 2013 Herping Season everyone! The search for amphibians began for me last weekend, when I went out for Blue-spotted Salamanders.
After about five minutes, I found two specimens under logs right next to each other, and a third under a log close by. It was pointed out to me that these specimens most likely have jeffersonianum influence, but they lean more towards laterale.

Blue-spotted Salamander ~ Ambystoma laterale
Image

Image

Image

Image

Image

The rest of the stuff I find before summer will probably be crammed into an end-of-spring post, so stayed tuned for that! Happy Herping.
User avatar
RenoBart
Posts: 354
Joined: June 7th, 2010, 10:22 am

Re: In Search of Blue-spotted Salamanders

Post by RenoBart »

Nice, is this Illinois? Here's some I found last year.

Image

Love those little guys!

Bart
qaz
Posts: 88
Joined: December 27th, 2012, 9:09 am

Re: In Search of Blue-spotted Salamanders

Post by qaz »

Thanks, and nice picture. Actually, thses were from NJ, where the beauties are endangered unfortunately.
Ecto Hunter
Posts: 276
Joined: August 27th, 2010, 3:00 pm
Location: AL & GA

Re: In Search of Blue-spotted Salamanders

Post by Ecto Hunter »

gorgeous laterales :thumb:
User avatar
Rich in Reptiles
Posts: 494
Joined: November 30th, 2012, 7:45 am
Location: Missouri

Re: In Search of Blue-spotted Salamanders

Post by Rich in Reptiles »

Really awesome finds! Thanks for sharing their beauty.
User avatar
Antonsrkn
Posts: 971
Joined: June 10th, 2010, 2:38 pm
Contact:

Re: In Search of Blue-spotted Salamanders

Post by Antonsrkn »

Cool, its still a bit too early here. Nice finds, those are a staple around here and are the most commonly encountered salamanders atleast for me. I didn't realize they were considered endangered in any part of their range.
User avatar
Mike VanValen
Posts: 2074
Joined: June 7th, 2010, 4:41 pm
Location: Connecticut
Contact:

Re: In Search of Blue-spotted Salamanders

Post by Mike VanValen »

This just reminded me I have a new spot to check out for these.
Antonsrkn wrote:Cool, its still a bit too early here. Nice finds, those are a staple around here and are the most commonly encountered salamanders atleast for me. I didn't realize they were considered endangered in any part of their range.
The blue-spotted complex is of special concern in Connecticut. They are in small pockets throughout the state.
User avatar
Andy Avram
Posts: 897
Joined: June 7th, 2010, 10:37 am
Location: NE Ohio

Re: In Search of Blue-spotted Salamanders

Post by Andy Avram »

Very cool salamander. I have only seen one I would call pure and it was pretty far north in Quebec.
Antonsrkn wrote:Cool, its still a bit too early here. Nice finds, those are a staple around here and are the most commonly encountered salamanders atleast for me. I didn't realize they were considered endangered in any part of their range.
It is all that edge of range listing. In Ohio they are only know from three counties, but we are also ground zero for the hybrid swarms, so there may be more pure Blue-spotted out there. Regardless they are listed as Endangered in Ohio.

Andy
User avatar
Antonsrkn
Posts: 971
Joined: June 10th, 2010, 2:38 pm
Contact:

Re: In Search of Blue-spotted Salamanders

Post by Antonsrkn »

Interesting, I checked out the range map provided by IUCN...
http://maps.iucnredlist.org/map.html?id=59060

Some gaps in it, wonder if that is due to a high percentage of them being "impure" hybrids there or if they're just working with dated/inaccurate records. For example I'm pretty sure I remember finding them in Ontario which doesn't have any shading at all.
User avatar
Jon Wedow
Posts: 201
Joined: June 9th, 2010, 7:38 am
Location: Canada

Re: In Search of Blue-spotted Salamanders

Post by Jon Wedow »

Antonsrkn wrote:Interesting, I checked out the range map provided by IUCN...
http://maps.iucnredlist.org/map.html?id=59060

Some gaps in it, wonder if that is due to a high percentage of them being "impure" hybrids there or if they're just working with dated/inaccurate records. For example I'm pretty sure I remember finding them in Ontario which doesn't have any shading at all.
That map is strange. They are all over the unshaded part of Ontario but if you find one who knows which "version" it is. It makes submitting findings practically useless and the maps we have even more useless. In Ontario there are 4 titles for 2 species... and they practically all look the same. How is anybody supposed to submit the proper thing? I'm just waiting for somebody to split up Jeffersons into more groups. That will be fun!
User avatar
Kevin McRae
Posts: 110
Joined: June 7th, 2010, 11:28 pm
Location: Manitoba, Canada

Re: In Search of Blue-spotted Salamanders

Post by Kevin McRae »

Beautiful photos!

That map is indeed strange. They are very common throughout Eastern Manitoba as well which that map does not indicate. Also, I've found them across New Brunswick as well which is also missing on the map.
qaz
Posts: 88
Joined: December 27th, 2012, 9:09 am

Re: In Search of Blue-spotted Salamanders

Post by qaz »

Thank you everyone! I was unaware of the range and status of these guys outside of the northeast, thanks for the info and map on that too.
Post Reply