THE CENTER FOR NORTH AMERICAN HERPETOLOGY

Amphibia    Caudata    Ambystomatidae  

Jefferson Salamander
Ambystoma jeffersonianum (Green, 1827)

SSAR 9th Edition Comments:
 Bogart (2019, Herpetologica 75: 259–267) discussed the biological and taxonomic history of the unisexual Ambystoma, concluding that “none of the various unisexual salamanders can be considered a distinct species.” Raffaëlli (2022, Salamanders & Newts of the World. Plumelec, Penclen) recognized A. platineum for the asexual forms, but most recent workers have not.

Range maps are based on curated specimens and provided gratis by CNAH.
(Created by Travis W. Taggart; Version: 2023.04.07.23.59.24)
Download GeoJSON polygon range file: - 0.32 MB

Province/State Distribution:
Canada: Ontario
USA: Connecticut Illinois Indiana Kentucky Maryland Massachusetts New Hampshire New Jersey New York Ohio Pennsylvania Vermont Virginia West Virginia

First instance(s) of published English names:
Granulated Salamander (Salamandra granulata: De Kay, James E. 1842. Zoology of New-York, or, The New-York Fauna: Comprising Detailed Descriptions of All the Animals Hitherto Observed within the State of New-York, with Brief Notices of those Occasionally Found Near its Borders, and Accompanied by Appropriate Illustrations. Volume 1, Part 3 (Reptiles and Amphibians). W. & A. White & J. Visscher, Albany, New York. pp.); Jefferson's Salamander (Ambystoma jeffersonianum: Jordan, David Starr. 1876. Manual of the Vertebrates of the Northern United States: Including the District East of the Mississippi River, and North of North Carolina and Tennessee, Exclusive of Marine Species. Jansen, McClurg, and Company, Chicago, Illinois.. 342pp.); Jefferson's Salamander (Amblystoma jeffersonianum: Jordan, David S. 1878. Manual of the Vertebrates of the Northern United States: Including the District East of the Mississippi River, and North of North Carolina and Tennessee, Exclusive of Marine Species. Second Edition, Revised, and Enlarged. Jansen, McClurg & Company, Chicago. pp.); Brown Salamander (Amblystoma jeffersonianum fuscum: Yarrow, Henry C. 1882. Check list of North American Reptilia and Batrachia with catalogue of specimens in U. S. National Museum. Bulletin of the United States National Museum (24):1-249); Jefferson's Salamander (Amblystoma jeffersonianum jeffersonianum: Yarrow, Henry C. 1882. Check list of North American Reptilia and Batrachia with catalogue of specimens in U. S. National Museum. Bulletin of the United States National Museum (24):1-249); Jefferson's Salamander (Ambystoma jeffersonianum: Hay, Oliver P. 1892. Batrachians and Reptiles of the State of Indiana. Pages 409-624 in 17th Annual Report of the Indiana Department of Geology and Natural Resources, William B. Burford, Printer and Binder, Indianapolis, Indiana. pp.); Dusky Salamander (Amblystoma jeffersonianum: Rhoads, Samuel N. 1895. Contributions to the zoology of Tennessee. No. 1, Reptiles and amphibians. Proceedings of the Academy of Natural Sciences, Philadelphia 47():376-407); Jeffersons Salamander (Amblystoma jeffersonianum: Drowne, Frederick P. 1905. The reptiles and batrachians of Rhode Island. Monograph of the Roger Williams Park Museum 15():1-24); Granulated Salamander (Amblystoma jeffersonianum: Drowne, Frederick P. 1905. The reptiles and batrachians of Rhode Island. Monograph of the Roger Williams Park Museum 15():1-24); Jefferson's Salamander (Ambystoma jeffersonianum: Fowler, Henry W. 1907. The amphibians and reptiles of New Jersey. MacCrellish and Quigley, Trenton, N. J.. 29-250pp.); Jefferson's Salamander (Amblystoma jeffersonianuum: Brimley, Clement S. 1915. List of reptiles and amphibians of North Carolina. Journal of the Elisha Mitchell Scientific Society 30(4):195-206); Jefferson Salamander (Ambystoma jeffersonianum: Conant, Roger, Fred R. Cagle, Coleman J. Goin, Charles H. Lowe, Wilfred T. Neill, M. Graham Netting, Karl P. Schmidt, Charles E. Shaw, Robert C. Stebbins, and Charles M. Bogert. 1956. Common names for North American amphibians and reptiles. Copeia 1956(3):172-185); Tremblay's Salamander (Ambystoma tremblayi: Collins, Joseph T., James E. Huheey, James L. Knight, and Hobart M. Smith. 1978. Standard common and current scientific names for North American amphibians and reptiles. Herpetological Circulars (7):36);

Taxon Links:

  
Catalog of American Amphibians and Reptiles
  
Amphibian Species of the World
  
NatureServe
  
iNaturalist
  
GenBank
  
USGS - Nonindigenous Aquatic Species Database

Selected References:
1827 Green, Jacob. An account of some new species of salamanders. Contributions of the Maclurian Lyceum to the Arts and Sciences 1:3–8
1954 Minton, Sherman A., Jr. Salamanders of the Ambystoma jeffersonianum complex in Indiana. Herpetologica 10:173-179
1958 Tihen, Joseph A. Comments on the osteology and phylogeny of ambystomatid salamanders. Bulletin of the Florida State Museum, Biological Sciences 3(1):1-50
1964 Uzzell, Thomas M., Jr. Relations of the diploid and triploid species of the Ambystoma jeffersonianum complex (Amphibia, Caudata). Copeia 1964(2):257-300
1967 Uzzell, Thomas Ambystoma jeffersonianum. Catalogue of American Amphibians and Reptiles (47):1-2
1967 Uzzell, Thomas Ambystoma laterale. Catalogue of American Amphibians and Reptiles (48):1-2
1967 Uzzell, Thomas. Ambystoma platineum. Catalogue of American Amphibians and Reptiles (49):1-2
1967 Uzzell, Thomas. Ambystoma tremblayi. Catalogue of American Amphibians and Reptiles (50):1-2
1969 Tihen, Joseph A. Ambystoma. Catalogue of American Amphibians and Reptiles (75):1-4
1980 Thompson, Edward L., J. Edward Gates, and Gary J. Taylor. Distribution and breeding habitat selection of the Jefferson Salamander, Ambystoma jeffersonianum in Maryland. Journal of Herpetology 14(2):113-120
1992 Lowcock, Leslie A., Hugh Griffith, and Robert W. Murphy. Size in relation to sex, hybridity, ploidy, and breeding dynamics in central Ontario populations of the Ambystoma laterale-jeffersonianum complex. Journal of Herpetology 26:46-53
1997 Bogart, James P. and Michael W. Klemens. Hybrids and genetic interactions of Mole Salamanders (Ambystoma jeffersonianum and A. laterale) (Amphibia: Caudata) in New York and New England. American Museum Novitates (3218):1-78
1997 Phillips, Christopher A., Thomas Uzzell, Christina M. Spolsky, Jeanne M. Serb, Robert E. Szafoni, and Timothy R. Pollowy. Persistent high levels of tetraploidy in salamander of the Ambystoma jeffersonianum complex. Journal of Herpetology 31(4):530-535
2019 Bogart, J. P. Unisexual salamanders of the genus Ambystoma. Herpetologica 75(4):259–267
2022 Raffaelli, J. Salamanders & Newts of the World. Plumelec, France: Penclen Édition.. pp.

THE CENTER FOR NORTH AMERICAN HERPETOLOGY — Accessed: Sunday 27 April 2025 10:45 CT