Slides
1a - 6
7 - 14
15 - 22
23 - 30
31 - 38
39 - 46
47 - 54
55 - 62
63 - 70
71 - 78
These pages have 80 slides accompanied by a description. This is not a slide program but rather a collection of slides and information. If you would like to view a slide program assembled from these slides, go to the slide program index.
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31. Spotted salamander emergent. Throughout July and August (depending on a number of factors including water level and temperature) larvae lose their external gills and emerge from the pool. They often remain close to the pool and can be found under logs, moist leaves, moss, etc. As long as remnant stubs of the gills remain, they are considered evidence of breeding. They may not show the yellow spots until a few weeks after emergence. |
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32. Blue-spotted salamander adult. The blue-spotted salamander is a fossorial animal spending its life (perhaps 20 years) in burrows and under debris in the forests near a vernal pool. It is a species of Special Concern in Massachusetts. Documenting it is difficult because of its spotty distribution, fossorial nature and small egg masses. An adult is not evidence of breeding but should be reported to NHESP because it is a rare wetland species. |
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33. Blue-spotted salamander in water. The pattern of blue-spotted salamanders is not always a brilliant blue like the old time enamelware. Older specimens seem to be more subdued in color pattern. Adults venture to a pool only to breed and then return to their adjacent forest habitat. |
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34. Spotted and blue-spotted salamander eggs. Blue-spotted salamander egg masses range in size one to 30 eggs in the mass. The jelly surrounding the eggs is quite clear and the masses are not always in communal clumps. The blue spotted egg mass (left and right) are distinguishable from the spotted egg mass (center). In the blue-spotted egg, the vitelline membrane around the ovum is very close to the ovum. In the spotted salamander egg, this membrane is about the width of the ovum away from the ovum. Blue-spotted egg masses are rather loose, like unset gelatin. Spotted masses are quite firm and retain their shape. |
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35. Blue-spotted salamander larva. Blue-spotted larvae hatch about five weeks after egg laying. They feed voraciously upon insect larvae and other small animals including spotted salamander larvae. Although they are generally larger than spotted larvae, it is difficult to distinguish among the larvae of the species of mole salamander. |
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36. Blue-spotted salamander emergent. Transformation of a salamander larva into an air-breathing terrestrial form occurs from mid-July through August, depending upon the pool's physical and biotic conditions. Emergents with gill remnants showing are evidence of breeding. The distinctive blue spotting develops over a few weeks. Larvae about to emerge may have extremely small blue flecks along their backs. |
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37. Jefferson salamander. The Jefferson salamander is found in western sections of Massachusetts. It has chocolate-brown coloration with pale blue flecks. Its life history is similar to its close relative, the blue-spotted salamander, and its eggs can be distinguished from the spotted salamander in the same manner (#34). Adults are seldom seen except on breeding nights at a vernal pool. An adult is not evidence of breeding but should be reported to NHESP as a rare wetlands species. |
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38. Marbled salamander. The marbled salamander is rare throughout MA, the northern extent of its range. Like other mole salamanders, it is seldom seen except when adults breed in the fall or emergents are near the edge of a vernal pool. An adult is not evidence of breeding but should be reported to NHESP. The marbled salamander is a "Threatened Species" in MA. |
