Spotted Salamander (Ambystoma maculatum)

Spotted Salamander (Reptiles and Amphibians of North Carolina)
The spotted salamander is a large, robust salamander with a rounded head. Adults have a black body with distinct spots on the body, tail, and head that can be shades of yellow or orange. They are most common in hardwood and mixed forests, but can also be found in a number of different habitats including floodplains and other bodies of freshwater.

Spotted Salamander species profile (UGA Savannah River Ecology Lab)
Found throughout eastern North America, spotted salamanders are common in Piedmont and Mountain regions of North Carolina, South Carolina and Georgia. The Spotted Salamander is fossorial, active at night, and is rarely seen except during breeding seasons.

Spotted Salamander (Connecticut Department of Energy and Environmental Protection)
Because spotted salamanders are secretive and spend most of the time underground, they are seldom seen except in early spring when they migrate in large numbers to breeding pools. Even then, they are active only on rainy nights. Spotted salamanders feed on worms, slugs, snails, spiders, millipedes, crickets, beetles, ants, and other invertebrates. In turn, they are food for some snakes, birds, fish, and mammals.

Spotted Salamander: A Life History (YouTube video)
This video discusses primarily how spotted salamanders reproduce.

Spotted Salamanders: Everything you need to know (YouTube video – The Wild Report)
This video discusses identification, habitat and reproduction of the spotted salamander.