Family: Ambystomidae, Mole Salamanders view all from this family

Description 4 3/4-8 1/4" (12.1-21 cm). Long and slender; snout wide, digits long. Dark brown or brownish-gray, often with bluish flecks on limbs and lower sides of body. Belly lighter, area around vent gray. Costal grooves, 12.

Breeding Migrates to ponds March to April. Female lays 10-20 cylindrical masses of 15 eggs each, attaching them to slender twigs underwater. Larvae hatch in 30-45 days, are 1/2" (13 mm) long; transform July to September at 2-3" (51-76 mm).

Habitat Deciduous forests; under debris near swamps and ponds.

Range Pure Jefferson Salamander found from w. New England and s. New York to Virginia and Indiana. Hybrids (with Blue-spotted Salamander) from Nova Scotia to n. New Jersey and west throughout much of Great Lakes region.

Discussion Jefferson and Blue-spotted Salamanders interbreed where their ranges overlap, creating a variety of hybrids, including two all-female types: the Silvery (formerly known as A. platineum) and Tremblay's (A. tremblayi). These genetic curiosities possess 3 sets of chromosomes instead of the normal 2. Silvery females breed with Jefferson males. The male's sperm only stimulates egg development; its genetic material is not contributed.