Three-lined Salamander

Eurycea guttolineata is a mid-sized, slender stream salamander which ranges from about 10-15.9 cm in its adult form. It is tan to light yellow with three black longitudinal stripes running from the eyes down the length of the body to the tail. They possess 13-14 costal grooves that aid in cutaneous respiration. The tail is very long at approximately two-thirds its total body length. Additionally, the ventrum (belly) of the three-lined salamander is boldly marked with black and white marbling.

The species is distributed throughout much of the southeastern United States. It can be found in the Appalachian Mountains from Virginia and Tennessee south through the Carolinas, Georgia, Alabama, and Mississippi to the Gulf Coast, including eastern Louisiana and western Florida.

Breeding takes place in slow moving bogs and streams. Hatchlings are generally around 10-13 mm and undergo metamorphosis when they are 22-27 mm snout-to-vent length. Metamorphosis starts with the reduction of labial folds, formation of eyelids, and resorption of the tail-fin. Metamorphosis is then complete with loss of gills and gill slits, along with pigment changes. This is typically a 4-6 month larval stage. The effects that elevation has on larval stages have been studied extensively showing that at lower elevations larvae metamorphosized sooner than those at higher elevations which had delayed metamorphosis mostly due to overwintering. Due to this species being a semi-aquatic salamander in the Plethodontidae family, the females will enter cooler waters in late autumn and winter to drop eggs. Females lay clutch sizes averaging 12-14 eggs.