Their skin is bluish-black, with characteristic blue and white flecks on its back, and bluish-white spots on the sides of its body and tail.

[4] Blue-spotted salamanders are nocturnal (Feuka, Hoffman, Hunter, Calhoun, 2017) staying underground during the day and coming out at night to find food (Donato 2000).

New England in the United States has large populations of many types of salamanders, including Ambystoma laterale.

Blue-spotted salamanders can be found as far west as the Great Lakes in Michigan and up into the eastern providences of Canada (Donato 2000, Gilhen 1974).

They prefer vernal pools that retain water into mid-summer, to ensure access to a suitable breeding habitat.

Studies are beginning to show that habitat selection may also be affected by factors such as light pollution and chemical hues.

Eggs are laid in small agglomerations attached to twigs, rocks or plants at the edge of a woodland pond or ditch.

At hatching, larvae have a well-developed mouth and eyes, as well as external gills and broad tail fins (Donato 2000).

[citation needed] Blue-spotted salamanders are known to be associated with unisexual (all-female) populations of ancient origin.

[8] The unisexual females often look like blue-spotted salamanders but have hybrid genomes[9] and require sperm from a co-occurring, related species to fertilize their eggs and initiate development.

Blue-spotted salamanders also have specialized glands on their tails that secrete a milky substance which is harmful to predators.

Blue-spotted salamanders are carnivorous, eating invertebrates such as worms, snails, slugs, centipedes, and spiders, as well as insects.