Shovel-Nosed Salamander

Scientific Name: Desmognathus marmoratus
Photo Credit: Todd Pierson 

The shovel-nosed salamander is a mostly aquatic species with a flattened head and a paddle-like tail, typically gray to brown with a mottled back and rows of light side spots. It lives in fast-flowing, cold streams in western North Carolina, often sheltering under large rocks in rapids. Though it shares habitat with the black-bellied salamander, it usually stays in the stream center, while the black-bellied salamanders prefers edges. This salamander feeds on aquatic invertebrates and sometimes smaller salamanders. Eggs are laid under rocks in swift water, and larvae remain fully aquatic with gills for up to three years before metamorphosis.

Explore the full species profile, including their habitat, diet, and behavior on Herps of NC.