Spotted Salamander

How to identify

• Large, 6–9.8 inches
• Black or dark gray above with two irregular rows of yellow or orange spots from head to tail
• Spots on the head often more orange; spots on the body more yellow
• Stout, rounded body
• Yellow belly

About this species

One of Virginia's most spectacular amphibians, the spotted salamander is a large, stocky species that spends most of its life underground in hardwood forests. On the first warm rainy nights of late winter or early spring, hundreds may migrate to vernal pools to breed in a brief explosive event. The vivid yellow or orange spots on a black body make them unmistakable.

Often confused with

Did you know

"Spotted salamander eggs contain symbiotic algae that live inside the egg capsules — the algae produce oxygen from photosynthesis that the developing embryos use, and the embryos produce carbon dioxide that the algae use."

Sightings & citizen science

Help document Virginia wildlife by logging your sightings on iNaturalist. Every observation builds the conservation data that researchers and rehabbers depend on.