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Seal salamander

Desmognathus monticola · Salamanders and newts · Amphibians

Seal salamander (Desmognathus monticola): Fairly large: 3.0-6.0 in (7.6-15 cm). Light brown to grayish back with black or dark brown reticulated, irregular 'wormy' splotches. 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 monticola
Family
Plethodontidae
In North America
Native
Range
Endemic to the eastern United States: from southwestern Pennsylvania southwest in the uplands through West Virginia, western Maryland, Virginia, eastern Kentucky, western North Carolina, eastern Tennessee, western South Carolina and northern Georgia. Not north or west of the Ohio River in the north. Not in Canada.
Biology

How to identify it

Fairly large: 3.0-6.0 in (7.6-15 cm). [1][2]

Light brown to grayish back with black or dark brown reticulated, irregular 'wormy' splotches. [1][2]

Belly very pale, often white, contrasting sharply with the back. [1][2]

Tail triangular in cross-section toward the end and moderately keeled. [1][2]

Compared with the black-bellied salamander: Black belly and two rows of small white dots along the sides. [1][2]

Compared with the shovel-nosed salamander: Different head shape and gray to dark belly. [1][2]

Compared with the black mountain salamander: Belly less pale so back-to-belly contrast is gradual. [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 seal salamander before you act. Compared with the black-bellied salamander: Black belly and two rows of small white dots along the sides.[1][2]
Field knowledge

Where it lives

Mountain streams, small rocky spring-fed brooks in shaded ravines, seepages, and wet rock faces. [1][2]

Prefers well-oxygenated, cool streams with moderate to steep gradient. [1][2]

Field knowledge

How it behaves

Sometimes perches on wet rocks; hides under rocks or moss and in burrows in mud banks. [1][2]

Females with 15-40 eggs are seen June-October; eggs are laid on the undersides of rocks or leaves in water or seepages. [1][2]

Occasionally eats small salamanders in addition to invertebrates. [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

Endemic to the eastern United States: from southwestern Pennsylvania southwest in the uplands through West Virginia, western Maryland, Virginia, eastern Kentucky, western North Carolina, eastern Tennessee, western South Carolina and northern Georgia. Not north or west of the Ohio River in the north. Not in Canada.

Biology

Sources

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

  1. NatureServe · reviewed 2026-09-30

    NatureServe

  2. Tennessee Wildlife Resources Agency · reviewed 2026-09-30

    Tennessee Wildlife Resources Agency