The Southern Dusky Salamander (Desmognathus auriculatus) is a species

Species

In biology, a species is one of the basic units of biological classification and a taxonomic rank. A species is often defined as a group of organisms capable of interbreeding and producing fertile offspring. While in many cases this definition is adequate, more precise or differing measures are...

 of salamander

Salamander

Salamander is a common name of approximately 500 species of amphibians. They are typically characterized by a superficially lizard-like appearance, with their slender bodies, short noses, and long tails. All known fossils and extinct species fall under the order Caudata, while sometimes the extant...

 native to the coastal regions of the southeastern United States

United States

The United States of America is a federal constitutional republic comprising fifty states and a federal district...

, from Virginia

Virginia

The Commonwealth of Virginia , is a U.S. state on the Atlantic Coast of the Southern United States. Virginia is nicknamed the "Old Dominion" and sometimes the "Mother of Presidents" after the eight U.S. presidents born there...

 to Texas

Texas

Texas is the second largest U.S. state by both area and population, and the largest state by area in the contiguous United States.The name, based on the Caddo word "Tejas" meaning "friends" or "allies", was applied by the Spanish to the Caddo themselves and to the region of their settlement in...

. Older sources often refer to it as the Eared Triton.

Description

The Southern Dusky Salamander grows from 3 to 6 inches in length. It is typically dark brown to black in color, with a long tail, and rear legs which are noticeably larger than its front legs. Occasionally red of white spotting is between the limbs.

Behavior

The Southern Dusky Salamander prefers tannic

Tannic acid

Tannic acid is a specific commercial form of tannin, a type of polyphenol. Its weak acidity is due to the numerous phenol groups in the structure...

, swampy areas near ponds or on the flood plain of streams and rivers. It is largely nocturnal

Nocturnal animal

Nocturnality is an animal behavior characterized by activity during the night and sleeping during the day. The common adjective is "nocturnal"....

. Breeding takes place in the fall months, and females lay eggs

Egg (biology)

An egg is an organic vessel in which an embryo first begins to develop. In most birds, reptiles, insects, molluscs, fish, and monotremes, an egg is the zygote, resulting from fertilization of the ovum, which is expelled from the body and permitted to develop outside the body until the developing...

in moist, sheltered areas of ground debris.