Mud Salamander

The Mud Salamander is classified as Least Concern. Does not qualify for a more at risk category. Widespread and abundant taxa are included in this category.

The mud salamander (Pseudotriton montanus) is a species of salamander in the Plethodontidae family. It is endemic to the United States. Its natural habitats are temperate forests, rivers, intermittent rivers, shrub-dominated wetlands, swamps, and freshwater springs. More

The Mud Salamander is uncommon or secretive throughout its range. The Gulf Coast subspecies (Pseudotriton m. flavissimus) is state-listed as a species of undetermined status in South Carolina. More

Life history: The mud salamander is rarely found far from water or muddy seeps. Its eggs have never been observed in Ohio, but they are believed to be attached to roots and rocks underground in springs and seeps during the winter. More

The Midland Mud Salamander is one of the most brilliantly colored salamanders in the eastern US. The body is coral pink, red, or brown, and is marked with black spots. More

Mud salamanders have brown eyes and blunter, shorter snouts while red salamanders have gold or yellowish eyes and slightly longer snouts. Larvae can get very large and typically have a grey or light brown base color. More

The Mud Salamander is well named. The larvae live in muddy water, and the adults often live in mud burrows or under rocks on muddy stream banks. More

Pseudotriton montanus, the mud salamander, is a large, robust plethodontid encountered infrequently in South Carolina and Georgia. Adults range from nearly red in younger individuals to brown in older and larger specimens. More

Eastern Mud Salamander (Pseudotriton m. More

Mud salamander (Pseudotriton montanus) > Click on the image to display a larger version. More

The midland mud salamander is limited to a few counties in the extreme southern part of Ohio. More

Midland Mud Salamander (Pseudotriton montanus diastictus) Midland Mud Salamanders are red with 30 to 40 distinct black spots scattered over the upper surface of the head, back, and dorsum of the tail. More

The Midland Mud Salamander is also know as the Brown Iris. It is red with several black spots. It has a dark line on the edge of the jaw. The Midland Mud Salamander can grow to a length of 6 inches. More

Mud salamanders are most often encountered under large, flat stones along shallow, sluggish woodland streams, springs, and seeps. As implied by their name, they seem to prefer muddy areas. More

mud salamanders engage in courtship in the fall and breed in early winter. Females deposit up to 200 eggs every other year. Transformation from larva to adult normally occurs in 17 months, but some take an additional year. More

The Eastern Mud Salamander is very rare in Pennsylvania, and has only been spotted on South Mountain in Cumberland County and nearby, although some scientists think it might have once existed in the Delaware Valley. More

eastern mud salamander (Pseudotriton montanus) = Photos Distribution Map Distribution Map Characteristics - This is a stocky, reddish salamander with More

Mud salamanders have a body length between 7.6 and 16.5 cm. The mud salamander may often be confused with the red salamander, Pseudotriton ruber, but the red salamander has yellow eyes and its black spots are closer together. More