Stats

Lifespan

10-15 yrs

Size

Small

Diet

Insectivore

Activity

Nocturnal

Social

Solitary

Biome

Temperate forest stream

Range

Eastern North America

Movement

Walking

Breeding

Egg-laying

Defense

Camouflage

Status

Uncommon

About

A small lungless salamander common along streams and seeps in eastern North America, it breathes entirely through its skin and the lining of its mouth, and can flip itself away from predators with a powerful tail-flick when startled.

Life cycle

1. 1.
   egg

   A jelly-coated egg is laid in water and develops over days into an aquatic larva.
2. 2.
   tadpole

   A gilled tadpole swims and grazes on algae, slowly absorbing its tail and growing limbs.
3. 3.
   juvenile

   A near-adult amphibian leaves the water with new legs and lungs, smaller than the mature form.
4. 4.
   adult

   Fully grown at adult size, breathing air.

Learn more

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Taxonomy

Kingdom

Animalia

Phylum

Chordata

Class

Amphibia

Order

Caudata

Family

Plethodontidae

Genus

Desmognathus

Species

Desmognathus fuscus