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Sean Edelman, Ho-Ho-Kus Public School

Bergen County

Image of Blue-spotted salamander.Blue-spotted salamander. Sean Edelman
Blue-spotted Salamander

Hi! I’m Spot, the blue-spotted salamander. Humans call me blue-spotted because I have blue spots. My scientific name is Ambystoma laterale. But you can just call me Spot. We have stocky bodies and study limbs. We are 4 to 5.5 mm in length.

We live in swampy lands in oak trees, red maple trees, black willow trees, and gray birch trees. We all have a taste for centipedes, slugs, earthworms, and mosquitoes. I like all of these bugs but, secretly like mosquitoes the most. Anyway, our babies feed on plankton.

But listen, our species have been having some problems surviving. The water is being polluted. The water is where we have our babies. You humans have been cutting down the trees that we live in so you can build houses and roads. So, we have to find new ones. Trust me; it is hard to find new homes. What also kill us are farmers using lots and lots of pesticides on the bugs we eat, so we get poisoned and we die.

However, you can help us by not cutting down as many trees. You can also stop spraying as much pesticide. The last thing you could do is you could stop throwing all your garbage into the water that we live in. It could be great if you could do all of this. I think I hear my mom calling me for dinner. Bye!

Written by: Sean Edelman
Ho-Ho-Kus Public School
Ho-Ho-Kus, NJ
Teacher: Mrs. Lepori