© Christopher J. Leary

     This gray or brown salamander, 6.4 - 14.1 cm (2.5 -  5.5 in), has an extremely variable color pattern with age.  Larvae (up to 2 cm) and young juveniles have 5 - 8 yellowish spots encircled in a dark wavy band on the dorsal side with a reddish tail.  Larvae have short and stubby gills that are white in coloration.   As the animal ages, the pattern breaks up, the darker remnants of it appearing as spots or stripes.  The belly is usually mottled lightly with gray or brown.  The tail has a distinct keel (knife-edged above).  A light-colored line runs from the eye to the corner of the mouth.  In the summer, females deposit between one to three dozen eggs near the water under rocks, logs, and in stream bank cavities.  Larvae emerge after 6-13 weeks and transform into adults late the next spring about 8 - 10 months later.

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