Stats

Lifespan: 15-20 yrs
Size: Large
Diet: Carnivore
Activity: Nocturnal
Social: Solitary
Biome: Freshwater stream
Range: Eastern North America
Movement: Walking
Breeding: Egg-laying
Defense: Camouflage
Status: Uncommon

About

A large, salmon-pink stream salamander of eastern North America's cool springs and seeps, identified by the pale, dark-bordered line running from its eye to its nostril that helps it track prey by scent in total darkness.

Life cycle

1.
egg
A jelly-coated egg is laid in water and develops over days into an aquatic larva.
2.
tadpole
A gilled tadpole swims and grazes on algae, slowly absorbing its tail and growing limbs.
3.
juvenile
A near-adult amphibian leaves the water with new legs and lungs, smaller than the mature form.
4.
adult
Fully grown at adult size, breathing air.

Learn more

Taxonomy

Kingdom: Animalia
Phylum: Chordata
Class: Amphibia
Order: Caudata
Family: Plethodontidae
Genus: Gyrinophilus
Species: Gyrinophilus porphyriticus