Spotted Salamander

This black or dark brown salamander (another of the mole salamanders) has prominent yellow spots along its body. It often looks like there are two rows of spots that merge into one on the tail. Sometimes you'll find two orange spots at the base of the head. Its belly is light gray.

Spotted salamanders like to live in closed-canopy hardwood forests (forests that don't let in much light) with lots of ground-layer leaves and other vegetation. This provides them with cool temperatures and high humidity. They spend lots of time underground during the warm months of the year. Sometimes you can find one under a rotting log or in humus (decayed leaves and other matter) during the spring and fall.

Spotted salamanders eat earthworms, mollusks, and arthropods. (Yum!)