Stats

Lifespan

5-10 yrs

Size

Medium

Diet

Insectivore

Activity

Nocturnal

Social

Solitary

Biome

Temperate forest

Range

Eastern North America

Movement

Walking

Breeding

Egg-laying

Defense

Camouflage

Status

Uncommon

About

This slender salamander is named for its namesake feature: a tail that makes up nearly two-thirds of its total body length. Its bright yellow-to-orange body is marked with bold black speckles that form a distinctive herringbone pattern along the tail.

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.

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Taxonomy

Kingdom

Animalia

Phylum

Chordata

Class

Amphibia

Order

Caudata

Family

Plethodontidae

Genus

Eurycea

Species

Eurycea longicauda