Determining Species of Larvae

In a disclosed area in the Adirondacks of New York, I retreived four salamander larvae. Two of them were blueish black with countless white spots and the other two were a little lighter color with less or no spots. I also saw a larva, but did not capture it, that was a yellow-orange without spots. Two of these four have completely different shaped heads. Are they different species? Or just simple variations? I guessed that they are either Spotted salamander larvae or Eastern Tiger salamander larvae.

Also, two of the larvae (the blueish black ones with white spots) metamorphed the day I brought them home and put them into a 20 gallon aquarium that has about half a foot of water and one of those aquarium fish mountains that is half uncovered. Meanwhile, the twoo other larvae did not metamorph yet, but both their gills are decreasing in size. Why is this? The pond they were in had the same amount of water, if not less.

Anyways, two of the larvae look like this:


And the other two now look like this after metamorphing:


Notice the head shape difference.

So, are these Spotted or Tiger salamanders? Or am I completely wrong and they are something else?

The morphed ones look definitely tigrinum/mavortium. The other ones i have no idea.
Please edit out the location.

By the way, all those bubbles, if they are caused by the chlorine of tap-water you should know that´s a very risky business...

azhael said:

Please edit out the location.

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You do know the Adirondacks are 6 million or so acres right?

No i did not But it looked like a locality and so i had to recommend editing it out.

I don't think that the range of tigers extends up into the Adirondacks, but I suppose that there could be an introduced population. It is difficult to ID the larvae based on your discription and the images that you provide which are taken from other websites. Many caudate larvae look very similar, so perhaps if possible you could post photos of the actual salamanders that you collected. I'm sure these would aid you in getting the most accurate identification.

Edit: You may find this link helpful in your quest.

I just thought I'd add that Ambystoma juveniles don't usually develop their full adult coloration until they've been out of the water for several weeks, so if you're patient, your morph's "true colors" will become apparent.

Yep, no tigers up there. They're either spotteds, Jefferson's, or blue-spotteds. Larvae of the latter two have heads about twice the width of the body, while the heads of spotted larvae are only slightly wider than the body.

Thanks for the help! I think they are probably spotted sals. The spots are beginning to show a yellowish color so i believe thats what they are.

Sean Brady said:

I think they are probably spotted sals. The spots are beginning to show a yellowish color so i believe thats what they are.

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If that's the case, then that's almost certainly what they are.