© Christopher J. Leary

    These are light greenish-gray to dark brown salamanders, 7.5 - 14.9 cm (3 - 6 in), with an extremely variable dorsal pattern of dark markings:  wormlike, netlike, or wavy.  The underside of these salamanders is a pale or lightly colored gray or brown with or without light-colored splotches.  There is a pale light stripe from the eye to the corner of the jaw.  The tail is compressed with a knife-edge shape near the posterior end.  In the early summer, females deposit clusters of 16 - 40 eggs in cavities of rotten logs or under rocks in stream banks.   The larvae hatch in the late summer to early fall.  Larvae have three to four pairs of yellow spots along the back and the venter is white and lacks a pattern.  The gills of the larvae are short and stubby and white in coloration.  Larvae transform into adults after a couple weeks.

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