Description: The color of the dorsum in P. ruber ranges from purplish brown to red. The dorsum is covered with irregular black spots. The venter is pink or red with black spots. Individuals tend to darken with age, and the spots begin to fuse and become less distinct. Juveniles are typically bright crimson with bold black spots, and may not have spotting on the belly. Older adults are often dark orange or purple-brown in coloration. Recently hatched larvae are typically light brown dorsally, with a whitish venter. The dorsum becomes streaked or mottled as the larvae mature. Larvae may turn red as they near transformation. The adult spotting appears a few months after metamorphosis.

Pseudotriton ruber is a large, red, black-spotted salamander with short limbs found in the eastern United States. Total length ranges from 95 to 180 mm in adults. Eyes are yellow. The body is stout, with 16 or 17 costal grooves. Limbs are short relative to body size. Tail is also short, averaging about 38% of total length. Hatchlings have a snout-vent length of 11 to 14 mm. Pseudotriton r. schencki may reach 150 mm total length, and has heavier black flecking under the chin.

Habitat: Red salamanders are mainly nocturnal, commonly found in or around slow-moving cold streams and springs all along the eastern coast from sea level up to 1500 meters. In adulthood, red salamanders are mostly aquatic and found in deeper springs where temperatures remain constant in the fall and winter season. In the spring and summer seasons, they migrate and take shelter under logs, stones, and leaf masses in deciduous or mixed forest in more terrestrial regions. During rainy nights, they can be spotted foraging around but usually try to remain hidden in shelter. Female red salamanders can also be found inhabiting caves to lay their eggs. Juvenile red salamanders typically stay in the steams for up to 3.5 years before they develop into adults

Range: Pseudotriton ruber, the red salamander, is native in the Nearctic region of the world. This subspecuies is found in the eastern United States ranging along the Appalachian range the Carolinas, Georgia Kentucky, and Tennessee.

Found in these States: GA | KY | NC | SC | TN

Diet: It feeds on various invertebrates, and may also eat smaller amphibians.

Reproduction: Pseudotriton ruber usually breeds annually, but mating season varies geographically. Courtship involves head rubbing and a tail-straddling walk, typical of plethodontid salamanders. The male then deposits a spermatophore for the female to pick up, to be used later for fertilization. Females may retain sperm for several months before oviposition. Males may deposit up to two spermatophores per night. Some males have been observed courting other males, in what may be an effort to improve their own chances with females by causing a rival male to waste a spermatophore. Eggs are laid during fall or early winter. The eggs, about 4mm in diameter, are attached in water to the underside of rocks and logs in streams, bogs, or springs. Females brood the eggs for 2 to 3 months until the eggs hatch.

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