© Christopher J. Leary  

    The young adults are brightly colored red or reddish orange with irregularly shaped black spots on the dorsum.  The ventral side is a salmon-red with black spots.  Older adults are a darker red or brownish purple.  The total length ranges from 7.6 - 18 cm (3 - 7 in).  Snout length is longer and more pointed than that of the eastern mud salamander and eye color is yellow instead of brown.  Following courtship in the summer, females lay from 30 - 130 eggs in the early fall.  Eggs are laid underground attached to rocks in seepage and spring areas.  Hatching occurs in late fall to early winter.  The larval period lasts about 2 to 3 years and metamorphosis occurs in the summer.  Larvae are reddish brown to coral-red with faint dark spotting on the dorsal surface and pale white on the belly. 

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