Your Florida Backyard NSiS Home Page Your Florida Backyard Lungless Salamanders
Lungless salamanders (family Plethodontidae) breathe primarily through their skin.
 

 
The Southern Dusky Salamander, Desmognathus auriculatus, is found in wet habitats in the north and central regions of the state. It is dark brown or black with flecks of white on its sides, belly and tail. It may reach a length of 5". Eggs (30-36) are laid under wet debris in the fall.
 
The Spotted Dusky Salamander, Desmognathus fuscus, near small streams in the panhandle and in Marion and Polk Counties. It has a brown golden-spotted body and mottled underside. It may reach a length of 3.5".
 
The Appalachian Seal Salamander, Desmognathus monticola monticola, is found along Canoe Creek in Escambia County. It is darkly mottled, brown to gray brown above and cream below. It may grow as long as 6.3".
 
The Southern Two-lined Salamander, Eurycea bislineata cirrigera, is found in and near small streams in the panhandle. Its gray to yellowish body has two black lines that run its length (4"). It has an orange yellow belly. Each hind foot has five toes.
 
The Three-lined Salamander, Eurycea longicauda guttolineata, is found near swamps and small streams in north Florida. It is tan with a black stripe down the back and along each side. It reaches a length of 5.5".
 
The Dwarf Salamander, Eurycea quadridigitata, is found in wet areas in north and north-central Florida, around Lake Okeechobee, and in Pinellas, Sarasota, and Dade Counties. It is usually found under moist debris or logs, or under submerged vegetation. It is small (3.5") and thin with a gray or yellowish back, a yellowish belly, and a thin black stripe down each side. It has four toes on each of its four legs.
 
** PROTECTED **
The Georgia Blind Salamander or Southeastern Blind Cave Salamander, Haediotriton wallacei, is found in clear water in caves where bats are present near the Georgia border. It has no eyes or pigment. It has bright red feathery external gills, long, thin legs, and a finned tail. It reaches a length of only 3".
 
The Four-toed Salamander, Hemidactylium scutatum, has been found under logs and rocks in damp areas in Leon, Jefferson, and Walton Counties. Its back is coppery red or brown, sides are gray, and the belly is white with black spots. Its head and tail are rounded. It has four legs and is the only terrestrial salamander with four toes on each leg. Average length is 2.75".
 
Breeding occurs during evening rains in late winter or early spring. Eggs are attached to vegetation at the water's edge. Females, often in groups, guard the eggs until they hatch six to eight weeks later. The larvae remain aquatic for about nine weeks and mature in two to three years.
 
The Slimy Salamander, Plethodon glutinosus glutinosus, is found in and under ground litter in moist hammocks in north and central Florida. It has a shiny black body with white flecks on its back and sides. It grows to a length of 7". It secretes a sticky substance which can glue a predator's jaws shut. It moves about underground using insect and animal burrows. In early spring, females lay their eggs in logs and, unlike other salamanders, the larvae develop inside the eggs which hatch 1-3 months later.
 
The Rusty Mud Salamander, Pseudotriton montanus floridanus, is found near small hammock streams and springs in northern Florida and Orange and Seminole Counties. It is rusty red with a yellowish, red-flecked underside. It may reach 7.5" in length.
 
The Southern Red Salamander, Pseudotriton ruber vioscai, is found near small, clear streams in the panhandle. It is white-flecked bright red to purplish brown and reaches a length of 6.5".
 
The Many-lined Salamander, Stereochilus marginatus, is found in black water streams, ponds, and ditches along the southern edge of the Okefenokee Swamp. It is brown or dark tan with a yellowish, black-flecked belly. It may grow to 3.75" or more.
 

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