Species
Three-lined salamander
Eurycea guttolineata
A long-tailed, yellow salamander with three dark stripes, living in floodplains and along streams.
Photo Kristof Zyskowski (opens in a new tab) / iNaturalist, CC BY 4.0 (opens in a new tab)
At a glance
- Size
- Usually 10 to 16 cm long
- Habitat
- Floodplain forests, seeps and stream edges
- Diet
- Small invertebrates
- In Georgia
- Most of the state
- Rabies vector
- No
Identification
- Key marks
- Yellow to orange with a dark stripe down the middle of the back and one down each side; very long tail
- Told apart from
- Southern two-lined salamander, which has only two stripes
- Told apart from
- Long-tailed salamander, which is spotted rather than striped
- Where to look
- Under logs in floodplains
Behaviour
It lives in damp floodplains and along streams and hunts on the forest floor on wet nights.
Why they matter
It is one of the salamanders of Georgia's floodplain forests, a habitat much reduced by drainage and clearing.
Reproduction and lifecycle
Eggs — Attached under debris in water
Hatching — In one to two months
Larvae — Aquatic for several months
Maturity — At about two years
Lifespan — Several years
Breathing — Through the skin; no lungs
Living around people
- Floodplain forests left to flood naturally are what it needs.
Misconceptions
- A long tail means a lizard. This is a 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 | Laying eggs | Laying eggs | Larvae hatching | Active | Active | Active on wet nights | Active on wet nights | Active on wet nights | Active | Active | Active | Moving to breeding sites |
Where it lives
Recorded in 10 states and provinces. Each one links to the other animals there, and to the rehabilitators licensed for them.
If you found one
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