Family: Plethodontidae, Lungless Salamanders view all from this family

Description 2 7/8-7 5/8" (7.3-19.5 cm). Stout and strikingly colored, with short legs and tail. Coral-pink, bright red, or brownish-salmon above, generally with well-scattered black spots. Older animals reddish- to chocolate-brown; spots obscured. Underside reddish or yellowish. Back and belly colors sharply separated. Eyes brown. Costal grooves, 16-17.

Subspecies Eastern (P.m. montanus), scattered spots on back and sides, some belly spotting; s. New Jersey to n. Georgia.
Midland (P. m. diastictus), coral pink to bright red, large spots mostly on back, belly unspotted; west of Appalachians, s. Ohio to s. Tennessee.
Gulf Coast (P. m. flavissimus), numerous spots on back and sides, belly unspotted; s. tip of South Carolina west to e. Louisiana.
Rusty (P. m. floridanus), back purplish brown without spots, sides streaked, belly spotted; s. Georgia and n. Florida.

Breeding Late fall to early winter. Female lays 75-190 eggs. Larvae hatch late winter at 3/4" (19 mm), transform in 1 1/2-2 1/2 years when about 3" (7.6 cm) long. In North Carolina males mature in 2 1/2 years, female in 4-5 years.

Habitat Muddy springs and streams, wooded floodplains, and swampy pools; low elevations.

Range Chiefly coastal plain and Piedmont areas, s. New Jersey to c. Florida; low elevations west of Appalachians from s. Ohio to sc. Tennessee.

Discussion Aquatic larvae live in silt or decaying vegetation; adults in muck, under logs or stones, or in mud burrows along stream banks. On the coastal plain the Mud is often found with the Southern Dusky.