Family: Ambystomidae, Mole Salamanders view all from this family

Description 3 1/4-4 3/4" (8.1-12.2 cm). Chunky; body and tail short; head and limbs seem abnormally large. Brown or gray to black above, with many bluish-white flecks. Belly gray, with light blotches. Tail crest often bears light area. Costal grooves, 10-11.

Breeding December to February after heavy rains and sharp temperature drop, in shallow ponds and flooded depressions. Female lays 20-400 eggs in small, fragile masses of 10-40 eggs each. Larvae transform late spring to early summer or following spring; occasionally neotenic.

Habitat Beneath debris and leaf litter or in burrows in flatwoods and bottomland forests, near floodplains and low-lying areas.

Range South Carolina to n. Florida west to e. Texas, north in Missippi Basin to se. Oklahoma and s. Illinois. Separate populations in sw. North Carolina and e. Tennessee.

Discussion Talpoideum, meaning "molelike," is a good name for this confirmed burrower. Breeding sites are sometimes shared with Marbled, Spotted, or Tiger salamanders.