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Northern two-lined salamander

Eurycea bislineata · Salamanders and newts · Amphibians

Northern two-lined salamander (Eurycea bislineata): Adults 6.4-12.1 cm with a broad yellow to greenish-yellow or tan stripe from head to tail. Stripe bordered on each side by a narrow black line that may break into dashes toward the tail; may have a row of dark spots down the middle. 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
Eurycea bislineata
Family
Plethodontidae
In North America
Native
Range
Southern Quebec and eastern Ontario south to northern Virginia, eastern West Virginia and central Ohio, with isolated populations in southern Labrador.
Biology

How to identify it

Adults 6.4-12.1 cm with a broad yellow to greenish-yellow or tan stripe from head to tail. [1][2]

Stripe bordered on each side by a narrow black line that may break into dashes toward the tail; may have a row of dark spots down the middle. [1][2]

15-16 costal grooves; yellow belly. [1][2]

Breeding males have whitish lower eyelid glands, a mental gland on the chin and cirri on the snout. [1][2]

Larvae have short reddish-brown gills. [1][2]

Compared with the southern two-lined salamander: 14 costal grooves rather than 15-16; ranges to the south. [1][2]

Compared with the northern dusky salamander: Stocky with keeled tail and no dark-bordered dorsal stripe. [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 two-lined salamander before you act. Compared with the southern two-lined salamander: 14 costal grooves rather than 15-16; ranges to the south.[1][2]
Field knowledge

Where it lives

Rocky brooks, springs and seepages; adults hide under objects in or near water. [1][2]

Field knowledge

How it behaves

Sometimes active by day in shaded wet areas; apparently active throughout the year in most of its range. [1][2]

Hides under objects in or near water and disperses into wooded uplands in wet, warm weather; aggregates in winter. [1][2]

Feeds opportunistically on small invertebrates, mainly terrestrial insects; eggs are laid April-June on the undersides of submerged rocks, logs or plants. [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

Southern Quebec and eastern Ontario south to northern Virginia, eastern West Virginia and central Ohio, with isolated populations in southern Labrador.

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