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Northern dusky salamander

Desmognathus fuscus · Salamanders and newts · Amphibians

Northern dusky salamander (Desmognathus fuscus): Small, robust salamander with 14 costal grooves and hind limbs larger than the front limbs. Keeled tail shorter than half the body length. This profile does not establish whether taking it is legal anywhere.

Check rules for a place and date

Certified rules currently represented in Hunt: coverage in development. This is coverage, not a legal answer.

Scientific name
Desmognathus fuscus
Family
Plethodontidae
In North America
Native
Range
Northeastern North America from southern New Brunswick and southern Quebec (and southeastern Ontario) south along the East Coast to North Carolina and west to Ohio, southern Indiana, Kentucky and Tennessee. Populations in southeastern Illinois and eastern Michigan are considered introduced.
Biology

How to identify it

Small, robust salamander with 14 costal grooves and hind limbs larger than the front limbs. [1][2]

Keeled tail shorter than half the body length. [1][2]

Upper body brown, reddish brown, gray or olive with slightly darker markings; tail base olive, yellow or bright chestnut. [1][2]

Belly whitish with dark speckles. [1][2]

Adults 6.4-14.2 cm; males typically longer than females. [1][2]

Compared with the spotted dusky salamander: Near-identical; separated by range. [1][2]

Species it is confused with

Check these before deciding what you are looking at. If you are not certain what it is, do not shoot.

Field notes

  • Identification Confirm a northern dusky salamander before you act. Compared with the spotted dusky salamander: Near-identical; separated by range.[1][2]
Field knowledge

Where it lives

Rock-strewn wooded streams, seepages and springs, usually near running or trickling water, from sea level up the Appalachians. [1][2]

Found under flat rocks or logs near rocky or hillside streams, or near waterfalls. [1][2]

Field knowledge

How it behaves

Mainly nocturnal; leaves cover under rocks or logs at night to forage along streams, and is active dusk to dawn on moist evenings. [1][2]

Active year-round at spring-fed sites, otherwise often inactive in winter; burrows below the frost line in severe cold. [1][2]

Generally solitary except during courtship and larval brooding; females guard 12-51 eggs under rocks, logs or moss near water. [1][2]

Regulatory handoff

Limited legal take

Legal take of this species exists only under narrow conditions — a quota, a draw, a permit, a small area, or animals released or held on private land — set by the authorities below. Nowhere else is a legal opportunity implied, and Hunt shows one only where a certified rule establishes it.

Where legal take is listed

Being listed is not an open season. Seasons, zones, licences, methods and limits decide whether this animal may be taken on a given day and place — check Hunt or the authority before you go. Listings read 2026-09-30.

Geospatial intelligence

Where it is found

Northeastern North America from southern New Brunswick and southern Quebec (and southeastern Ontario) south along the East Coast to North Carolina and west to Ohio, southern Indiana, Kentucky and Tennessee. Populations in southeastern Illinois and eastern Michigan are considered introduced.

Biology

Sources

Every claim above is attributed to one of these published sources.

  1. NatureServe · reviewed 2026-09-30

    NatureServe

  2. University of Michigan Museum of Zoology · reviewed 2026-09-30

    University of Michigan Museum of Zoology