Caudata Desmognathus conanti -- Spotted Dusky Salamander
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Purple shade indicates vouchered specimens. Light blue (cyan)
shade indicates photographic records. Yellow shade indicates verified
sighting. Slanted hatch indicates pre-1980 records only
NOTE: Not all specimens upon which these maps are based have been verified.
Key Characters: Nasolabial grooves present; pale diagonal line from eye to angle of jaw.
Similar Species: Four-toed salamander, smallmouth salamander, southern two-lined salamander.
Description: A moderately stout (up to 12 cm TL) salamander with dark markings on back, remnants of spotted juvenile pattern, that form a broad, irregular light stripe down back and onto tail. Light belly is mottled with black and light flecks. Male has enlarged jaw muscles during spring/summer breeding season. Larva with short, glistening-white gills, and 5-8 pairs of light spots on back.
Habitat: Cool, spring-fed headwater streams flowing through forests. Larvae are found in streams and spring seeps.
Natural History: Adults are mainly nocturnal, moving about on stream banks at night. During the day they take refuge in burrows or under logs, rocks, and leaves at edge of the stream. Adults eat a variety of invertebrates and occasionally their own larvae. The tail is easily broken; many adults have short or regenerated tails as evidence of escape from predators. Mating occurs from April through July. The female curls around and guards her eggs, which are laid in a burrow, moss, or depression under log, rock, or leaves near water. Larvae hatch in autumn and wriggle into water, where they feed and grow until transforming the following spring.
Status: Occurs only in isolated populations in Pulaski County, and one (probably an introduction) in Johnson County. Endangered in Illinois.