9 Types of Salamanders in Maine! (ID Guide)
Did you find a salamander in Maine?
First, congratulations! Although these amphibians are widespread, they can be challenging to locate. The best places to look are in wet habitats under rocks and in creekbeds. Honestly, looking for salamanders is a really fun experience!
Below you will find a list of the most common and interesting salamanders that live in Maine. You will find detailed pictures, along with range maps for each species to help with your identification!
9 Types of Salamanders in Maine:
#1. Eastern Newt
- Notophthalmus viridescens
Identifying Characteristics:
- Larvae are aquatic and have smooth, olive green skin, narrow, fin-like tails, and feathery gills.
- Juveniles are terrestrial and have rough, orangish-red skin with darker spots outlined in black.
- Adults have slimy, dull olive-green skin, dull yellow undersides, darker black-rimmed spots, and a blade-like tail.
Eastern Newts have the most complicated life cycle of any salamander in Maine!
When they’re first hatched, they spend all of their time in the water. This larval stage lasts for two to five months. After that, they metamorphose into juvenile Eastern Newts.
They live in terrestrial forest habitats for two to seven years during their juvenile stage. Even though they generally remain hidden under moist leaf litter and debris, you may see them moving about on rainy days and nights, foraging insects, worms, and spiders. This is the stage of life you’re most likely to see an Eastern Newt. If you spot one, be careful – they have glands that secrete a potent neurotoxin when they’re threatened.
Finally, Eastern Newts will migrate back to a water source and metamorphose into aquatic adults, where they eat small amphibians, fish, and worms. They can live up to 15 years and spend the rest of their lives in this aquatic form.
Interestingly, Eastern Newts are known for their homing ability, which allows them to travel to and from their breeding ground. Though scientists are unsure of the exact mechanism, the Eastern Newt likely uses magnetic orientation to find its way!
#2. Spotted Salamander
- Ambystoma maculatum
Identifying Characteristics
- Adults are 5.9 to 9.8 inches long with wide snouts. They are typically black but may also be bluish-black, dark grey, dark green, or dark brown. Their underside is slate gray or pale pink.
- They have two uneven rows of spots down their back, from just behind their eyes to the tip of their tail. Spots on the head are orange and fade to yellow further down the body and tail.
- Larvae are light brown or greenish-yellow with small darker spots, external gills, and fin-like tails.
The Spotted Salamander is found primarily in hardwood forests with vernal pools, which are temporary ponds created by spring rain. Like many salamanders in Maine, they require vernal pools for breeding because the fish in permanent lakes and ponds would eat all their eggs and larvae.
These salamanders are fossorial, meaning they spend most of their time underground. Spotted Salamanders are typically only seen above ground just after heavy rain, so you’ll need to get a little muddy to find one! They go dormant underground during the winter months and don’t come out until the breeding season between March and May.
The Spotted Salamander’s eggs are truly incredible. The embryos can host algae inside their eggs, and they are the only vertebrate known to do so. The embryos and algae have a symbiotic relationship. The algae have a suitable habitat, and in return, they produce the oxygen necessary for the embryos to grow and thrive.
#3. Common Mudpuppy
- Necturus maculosus
Identifying Characteristics
- Adults range from 8 to 19 inches in length.
- This species is rusty brown to gray or black with scattered bluish-black or black spots, which sometimes merge to form stripes. The underside is whitish and may also have bluish-black spots.
- The large, bushy, red, or maroon external gills behind the flattened head make this species easy to identify.
Common Mudpuppies are among the most well-known salamanders in Maine.
These LARGE salamanders can be found in nearly any body of water, including lakes, reservoirs, ditches, and rivers. They are secretive and require habitats with lots of cover, such as boulder piles, submerged logs, tree roots, or vegetation.
Common Mudpuppies are nocturnal and spend their days hiding under rocks. They’re active at night and hunt by walking along the lake or river bottom, but they can also swim. These opportunistic feeders eat whatever aquatic organisms they can catch, including insect larvae, small fish, fish eggs, aquatic worms, snails, and even carrion.
In the spring, when water temperatures don’t fluctuate as much, Common Mudpuppies spend time in shallow water. However, they have been reported in water as deep as 100 feet during the summer and winter!
#4. Red-backed Salamander
- Plethodon cinereus
Identifying Characteristics
- Adults range from 2 to 5 inches in length.
- Adults can occur in two color phases: the “lead-back” is consistent gray or black, and the “red-back” has an orange to red stripe down the back and tail.
- All adults have mottled white and black undersides and five toes on their hind feet.
Unlike other salamanders in Maine, Red-Backed Salamanders don’t have lungs OR gills! Instead, they “breathe” with their thin skin, absorbing oxygen through moisture. This unique trait means they must stay moist to survive.
Red-backed Salamanders are typically found beneath leaf litter, logs, bark, rocks, or burrows in deciduous forests. They have a low tolerance for dry weather, and typically you’ll only see them during or after rainfall. In the winter, they hibernate underground.
These salamanders feed on invertebrates, including spiders, snails, worms, and other small insects. Researchers studying the diets of Red-Backed Salamanders found that individuals with red coloring had a higher-quality, more varied diet than those with gray coloring.
The different phases are also believed to have different methods of predator evasion. For example, the “lead-back” phase salamanders tend to run from predators, while the “red-back” phase will freeze. Both phases of the Red-backed Salamander may also drop all or part of their tail to escape a predator. Eventually, the tail will grow back, but duller in color.
#5. Four-Toed Salamander
- Hemidactylium scutatum
Identifying Characteristics
- Adults grow up to 3.9 inches in length.
- Orangish-brown to reddish-brown coloring with a brighter tail, grayish flanks, and white underside with small black spots.
- They have an elongated body and limbs, short snout, prominent eyes, and four toes on their hind feet.
Adult Four-Toed Salamanders are typically found in hardwood forests near bogs, floodplains, or swamps. They’re almost always found near sphagnum moss, and you’ll want to look under the leaf litter, logs, rocks, or other debris to find them.
As adults, these salamanders primarily feed on small invertebrates such as spiders, worms, and insects. Predators like larger salamanders, snakes, and birds of prey will hunt Four-Toed Salamanders while they forage. If threatened, they may play dead or drop their tails, giving them a chance to escape predators.
Four-toed Salamanders use old underwater burrows or cavities for overwintering. They choose spots deep enough to avoid freezing and often overwinter communally. They’ve even been found in groups with other species, such as the Red-backed Salamander.
Four-toed Salamanders are relatively uncommon throughout their range due to their specialized habitat, so if you see one in the wild, consider yourself lucky!
#6. Northern Dusky Salamander
- Desmognathus fuscus
Identifying Characteristics
- Adults typically range from 2.5 to 4.5 inches in length though individuals up to 5.6 inches have been recorded.
- Their coloring ranges from brown or reddish-brown to gray or olive, with a whitish belly, dark speckles, and somewhat lighter tail.
- The hind limbs are larger than the front limbs, and males are usually longer than females.
Northern Dusky Salamanders are typically found in Maine in moist woodlands close to running water, such as hillside streams. They hide under stones, logs, and leaf litter at the water’s edge. They’re frequently found under rocks or logs partially submerged in streams.
These nocturnal salamanders leave their cover to forage at night. They may be active from dusk until dawn on damp or rainy nights. Interestingly, they have a small range and may only travel a couple of meters away from their territory searching for food.
Northern Dusky Salamanders feed on various terrestrial and aquatic invertebrates. However, they don’t prefer specific prey and eat whatever is abundant, including crustaceans, earthworms, spiders, insect larvae, ants, centipedes, moths, and mites.
#7. Northern Two-lined Salamander
- Eurycea bislineata
Identifying Characteristics
- Adults typically range from 3.5 to 3.3 inches in length though individuals up to 4.8 inches have been identified.
- Their coloring is bright greenish-yellow to orange-yellow and sometimes brown, with flanks that are mottled grayish or brown, a line of small black flecks down the middle of their back, and two black stripes that run down their back from their eyes and break up at the base of their tail.
- This species has five toes on the hind feet.
Look for Northern Two-Lined Salamanders in Maine in moist forests near rocky streams. They’re occasionally found near wooded shorelines.
These salamanders are opportunistic predators that will feed on any invertebrates that come across their path. They eat beetles, roaches, springtails, earthworms, and snails.
Northern Two-Lined Salamanders are preyed on by several species, but their response to predators varies. For instance, when attacked by birds or mammals, they raise and undulate their tails to appear larger and threatening. However, when snakes attack them, they typically freeze or flee. Dropping all or part of their tail to escape predators is common.
#8. Blue-spotted Salamander
- Ambystoma laterale
Identifying Characteristics
- Adults range from 3.9 to 5.5 inches in length.
- Their coloring is bluish-black with blue and white flecks on the back and a lighter underside.
- They have four toes on the front feet and five toes on the hind feet.
This species is the most beautiful salamander in Maine!
You can find Blue-Spotted Salamanders in moist deciduous forests, swampy woodlands, and occasionally in coniferous forests and fields. Look for them under logs, rocks, leaf litter, or other organic debris. They’re generally only seen on damp, rainy nights.
Blue-spotted Salamanders have an interesting defense against predators. When threatened, they curl their bodies and wriggle to attract a predator to their tail. Then, they secrete a sticky, foul-tasting liquid into the predator’s mouth. Once they get a mouthful, most predators learn to leave this salamander alone!
Blue-spotted Salamanders breed in vernal pools to protect their young from becoming prey. These pools dry out in the summer, so they don’t support larger predators, making them a safe place for eggs to incubate.
#9. Spring Salamander
- Gyrinophilus porphyriticus
Identifying Characteristics
- Adults range from 5 to 7.5 inches in length.
- Their coloring is highly variable: salmon, brownish-orange, yellowish-brown, or red, often with darker spots or a mottled appearance.
- They have a slender build and a light-colored ridge bordered by brown or black runs from the eye to the tip of the snout.
Spring salamanders are semi-aquatic and can typically be found near springs, mountain streams, or caves. During the day, they spend their time beneath logs, rocks, or leaf litter on the edges of these water sources.
They eat various invertebrates like insects, spiders, millipedes, earthworms, and spiders. However, Spring Salamanders won’t hesitate to eat other salamanders, including their own species. Scientists have found that in some populations, the bulk of the Spring Salamander’s diet is made up of other salamanders!
Which of these salamanders have you seen in Maine?
Tell us about it in the comments!
Also, if you enjoy this article, make sure to check out these other guides about herps! As you may have guessed, “herps” refers to herpetology, the study of reptiles and amphibians like salamanders.
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8 FROGS Found in Maine! (ID Guide)
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13 Types of TURTLES in Maine! (Both aquatic and land)
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8 Kinds of SNAKES That Live in Maine! (Includes venomous species)
