Facts

• In the wild there are about 500 species of salamanders.
  
• The spotted salamander can live up to 20 years!
  
• One salamander can have up to 50 spots!
  
• Algae grow on their unhatched egg masses, turning them green. The algae supplies the eggs with oxygen that is crucial to their development.
  
• In the winter the spotted salamander hibernates.
  
• Spotted salamanders return to the same mating pool by the same route each year.
  
• Salamanders have 10 times more DNA in each cell than humans do.
  
• Salamander skin is very sensitive to air pollution, so if a population is healthy, that is a good indicator that the habitat is clean.
  
• Salamander means “Fire lover.”
  
• Ambystoma = "Blunt mouth."
  
• Maculatum = "Spotted."

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