Ambystoma maculatum
Silhouette: Matt Reinbold (modified by T. Michael Keesey) · PhyloPic
In 3 days ~30% in a week ~50%
The spotted salamander (Ambystoma maculatum), also known commonly as the yellow-spotted salamander, is a species of mole salamander in the family Ambystomatidae. The species is native to the eastern United States and Canada. It is the state amphibian of Ohio and South Carolina. The species ranges from Nova Scotia, to Lake Superior, to southern Georgia and Texas. Its embryos have been found to have symbiotic algae, Chlorococcum amblystomatis, living in and around them, the only known example of vertebrate cells hosting an endosymbiont microbe (unless mitochondria are considered).
The spotted salamander is about 15–25 cm (5.9–9.8 in) long (tail included), with females generally being larger than males. It is stout, like most mole salamanders, and has a wide snout. The spotted salamander's main color is black, but can sometimes be a bluish-black, dark gray, dark green, or even dark brown. Two uneven rows of yellowish-orange spots run from the top of the head (near the eyes) to the tip of the tail (dorso-lateral ranging). The spotted salamander's spots near the top of its head are more orange, while the spots on the rest of its body are more yellow. The underside of the... Wikipedia →
Recording0:13
United States · 2023
© planetlorak · iNaturalist · CC BY-NC 4.0
| # | Park | Country | Daily sighting probability |
|---|---|---|---|
| 1 | Acadia National Park | 🇺🇸 United States | |
| 2 | Cape Breton Highlands National Park | 🇨🇦 Canada | |
| 3 | Shenandoah National Park | 🇺🇸 United States | |
| 4 | Great Smoky Mountains National Park | 🇺🇸 United States |
| # | City | Country | Daily sighting probability |
|---|---|---|---|
| 1 | Washington | 🇺🇸 United States | |
| 2 | Boston | 🇺🇸 United States | |
| 3 | New York City | 🇺🇸 United States | |
| 4 | Toronto | 🇨🇦 Canada |
| # | Zoo / Centre | Country | |
|---|---|---|---|
| 1 | Ecomuseum Zoo | 🇨🇦 Canada | |
| 2 | Western North Carolina Nature Center | 🇺🇸 United States | |
| 3 | North Carolina Aquarium on Roanoke Island | 🇺🇸 United States | |
| 4 | Bird Kingdom | 🇨🇦 Canada | |
| 5 | Aquarium of Niagara | 🇺🇸 United States | |
| 6 | Huntsman Fundy Discovery Aquarium | 🇨🇦 Canada |
With luck
About 10% of wildlife watchers report a Spotted Salamander sighting in Great Smoky Mountains National Park on a given day, based on 76 verified sightings from GBIF citizen-science data from 2019 to 2026. It is the 26th most-seen of the 36 amphibians we can rate there. Over three days the chance rises to about 30%, and over a week to about 50%, if each day is a fresh chance.
February
In that month about 30% of wildlife watchers report a Spotted Salamander in Great Smoky Mountains National Park on a given day, against under 5% in May–June and September–October, the lowest months.
Between 11 am and 2 pm
Across all the parks we cover, that three-hour window holds the most Spotted Salamander sightings with a recorded time, and about 8 in 10 of them come between 6 am and 6 pm: it is a daytime animal.
4th of 4
Of the 4 parks where we can rate Spotted Salamander sightings, Great Smoky Mountains National Park ranks 4th at about 10%. The best odds are in Acadia National Park (United States, about 40%), Cape Breton Highlands National Park (Canada, about 20%) and Shenandoah National Park (United States, about 10%).
GBIF citizen-science records
It is estimated from how often the Spotted Salamander is recorded against all the amphibians logged in Great Smoky Mountains National Park (76 verified sightings from 2019 to 2026), calibrated against known sighting rates. Figures are rounded to the nearest 10% because citizen-science data supports honest approximations, not decimals, and months with records from fewer than five people show "—". How it works.
