Species
Brownback salamander
Eurycea aquatica
A stout, brownish relative of the two-lined salamander that lives in limestone springs.
Photo Jared Shorma (opens in a new tab) / iNaturalist, CC BY 4.0 (opens in a new tab)
At a glance
- Size
- Usually 6 to 9 cm long
- Habitat
- Limestone springs and spring-fed streams
- Diet
- Tiny invertebrates
- In Georgia
- Springs of northwest Georgia; uncommon
- Rabies vector
- No
Identification
- Key marks
- Stout and short-tailed; dark brown back with dark sides and a yellow belly
- Told apart from
- Southern two-lined salamander, which is slimmer and yellow above
- Where to look
- Under rocks and plants in springs
Behaviour
It lives in and beside cold, clear springs and rarely strays far from them.
Why they matter
Its springs are few and easily damaged, so each population is small and isolated.
Reproduction and lifecycle
Eggs — Attached under rocks in springs
Hatching — In several weeks
Larvae — Aquatic for about a year
Maturity — At about two years
Lifespan — Several years
Breathing — Through the skin; no lungs
Living around people
- Keep livestock and silt out of springs.
Misconceptions
- Every salamander looks the same. This one was long mistaken for a two-lined salamander.
Related species
Seasonal activity
When this species is breeding, and when there are nests on the ground. Mowing during the shaded months is how most nests are found.
| Jan | Feb | Mar | Apr | May | Jun | Jul | Aug | Sep | Oct | Nov | Dec | |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| Breeding | Jan: no | Feb: no | Mar: no | Apr: no | May: no | Jun: no | Jul: no | Aug: no | Sep: no | Oct: no | Nov: no | Dec: no |
| Active nests | Jan: no | Feb: no | Mar: no | Apr: no | May: no | Jun: no | Jul: no | Aug: no | Sep: no | Oct: no | Nov: no | Dec: no |
| Notes | In springs | Laying eggs | Laying eggs | Larvae hatching | Active | Active | Active | Active | Active | Active | Active | In springs |
Where it lives
Recorded in 4 states and provinces. Each one links to the other animals there, and to the rehabilitators licensed for them.
United States
If you found one
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