Three-lined Salamander

Eurycea guttolineata

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The three-lined salamander is a slender, medium-sized stream salamander with an average length range between 4.2-6.3 inches. Their coloration is typically light yellow to…

How to identify

The three-lined salamander is a slender, medium-sized stream salamander with an average length range between 4.2-6.3 inches. Their coloration is typically light yellow to tan. They have a long tail that makes up 2/3 of their total length. The three-lined salamander, as the name implies, has three black longitudinal stripes that extend from the eyes and head to the tail (usually ending where the tail begins). The belly and underside have markings of black and white marbling.

Range

This salamander is found mostly in the southeastern United States. The range includes the Appalachian Mountains extending from Tennessee and Virginia, then south through South Carolina, North Carolina, Alabama, Georgia, Mississippi into the Gulf Coast, and western regions of Florida and eastern parts of Louisiana.

Habitat

These salamanders thrive in forested floodplains, bottomland hardwood forests, streamsides, ditches, edges of cypress swamps, and seepages. And if the weather is suitably wet, they can be found in wooded terrestrial habitats. They shelter under branches, rocks, and other covers along the sides of streams. The salamanders breed in fall and winter and the females lay eggs below the ground in some streams. They feed on a variety of insects and invertebrates.

Similar species

The Southern Two-lined Salamander (Eurycea cirrigera) is small and slender with a length between 2.6-4.7 inches. It has two lines that extend longitudinally down its body instead of three. The lateral lines extend into the tail, unlike the Eurycea guttolineata. The Northern Dusky Salamander (Desmognathus fuscus) is a sturdy salamander that may appear in a reddish-brown to gray or olive coloration. These salamanders are usually uniformly colored with a light dorsal stripe or two dark stripes that end into the tail. It has hind legs that are larger than the forelegs and it possesses a keeled tail. The Northern Two-lined Salamander (Eurycea bislineata) is a small salamander with a length that ranges from 2.6-4.7 inches. Its coloration is typically yellow patterned with two dark lines that extend across the back longitudinally into the tail. It has a pale yellow underside that is nearly transparent.