Cheat Mountain Salamander

Plethodon nettingi

Of all the species of amphibians that can be found in the Blackwater Canyon, this is the most notable. The Cheat Mountain salamander is a high-elevation specialist; occupying the moist, moss-covered floor of the spruce-fir forests in the high Alleghenies. This species can only be found in a few counties in West Virginia and nowhere else on planet Earth! They spend most of their time hidden away underground or under cover objects like rotting logs to avoid desiccation from the hot sun; only emerging on moist nights to forage for their tiny invertebrate prey. This species is federally threatened due to habitat loss from logging and other anthropogenic activities.

Desmognathus ochrophaeus

Allegheny Mountain Dusky Salamander

Members of the Desmognathus genus tend to be tricky to identify due to their high variability in color and pattern. The most varying species in the Blackwater Watershed is without a doubt the Allegheny Mountain dusky salamander. The most common member of its genus in the Allegheny Mountains as its name suggests. Interesting in that salamanders of the Desmognathus genus are usually much more tied to water than their Plethodon cousins, but the Allegheny duskies are the exception. This species can be found occupying habitat fairly far from a water source, only having to venture there to lay their aquatic eggs. Allegheny Mountain dusky salamanders can be seen sporting colors from sulfur yellow to red to muddy brown. They can be distinguished from the other "desmogs" (slang term for salamanders belonging to the Desmognathus genus) by their tail which is round in cross-section, devoid of a keel. Their range extends from New York to Georgia.

Four-toed salamanders are quite funky looking, with a constriction at the base of their tail, a square face, and a salt & pepper colored belly; all things that make them very easy to identify! This species is the only member of its genus (Hemidactylium) in the world. A unique behavior they exhibit is communal nesting. This means that females of this species can be found guarding eggs of multiple mothers. The reason they do this is their eggs are bright white to indicate their toxicity, meaning the more eggs around a female the safer she will be (predators recognize their eggs as being poisonous and let them be). Four-toed salamander eggs need to be laid in sphagnum moss. This is because their eggs will drown if laid underwater but cannot dry out. Even more, their eggs hatch into larvae with gills and wriggle down to the water below the moss upon hatching. Truly a wonderful little species of amphibian, they can be found from Canada to the Gulf of Mexico! (but only where they can find that precious sphagnum moss)