Eastern Tiger Salamander

Well I practically stumbled on this one as it was crossing my parents yard. It's been a long time since I've seen one otherwise.

I'm pretty jealous of this spotting! I looked for a salamander all summer and was never able to find one. You guys must be hoarding time all on that side of the state, ha!

I added a side shot that should help to clear things up.

I am inclined to go with tiger, the spotted has a plain belly, while the tiger's spots cover the entire body. If you got a good look at it's belly easy enough to rule one out, but it looks like the spots extend beyond those found on a spotted. Also the spotted has basically two irregular rows of spots down it's back, the spots here are all over the place.

I'd like to get some more feedback on this. I believe that the spotted would be a pretty rare sighting here in NE Iowa, whereas the Tigers are relatively common. I'll post a couple more photos.

I don't believe it's a Tiger Salamader because they have way too many spots compared to this one. Spotted has less and not as bright.