Scientific Name: Desmognathus monticola
Size: 3-5 inches (8-12.5 cm) in length
PA Status: Abundant

Habitat Type:
Close to or in small to medium-sized mountain streams.

Colorations:

• The dorsal background color us light brown to greyish with reticulated, mottled, or wormy dark brown to black markings. In some individuals these markings maybe absent or reduced.
• The sides of the body are mottled and often have a single line of white spots between the forelimbs and hindlegs.
• The ventral, chin and underside of the appendages are white to light grey. Melanophores on the venter are uniformly spaced so that the ventral lacks mottling.
• A light line that extends from the eye to the angel of the jaw.
• The head is mottles with brown or black.
• The toe tips are black and are darker than the other part of the toes.

Characteristics:

• Medium-sized heavy bodied species.
• The tail is strongly compressed laterally with a sharp well defined knife-like dorsal keel.
• The head is large and bluntly rounded.
• The gular fold is distinct.
• The temporal and mastoid regions of the head are hypertrophied.
• 14 costal grooves

Juvenile coloration and characteristics:

• The dorsal has 4-5 pairs of brown spots that become fused and darker with age.

Hatchlings and Larvae coloration and characteristics:

• The dorsal background is dark and has 4-5 pairs of orange to reddish orange staggered spots between the forelimbs and hind legs.
• Older larvae start to develop black cornifications on the tips of the toes.

Confused with:

• Northern Dusky Salamander

Coloration/Pattern Photos:
Adults

Range Map:

References:

• Hulse, C. and McCoy C. J. and Ellen Censky ,1998. Amphibians and Reptiles of Pennsylvania and the Northeast. 79-81pp.
• Petranka, James W. ,1998. Salamanders of the United States and Canada. 187-192pp.

Photo Credits:

• Jason Poston
• John Smith
• Tom Diez