Compare two species

Southern Blackbelly Salamander vs. Seal Salamander

Both are big, keel-tailed duskies under the same rocks in the same mountain streams, and young blackbellies are about Seal-sized. A: Jet black in adults (paler in the young) in the Southern Blackbelly Salamander; clean white or pinkish, sharply set off from the sides in the Seal Salamander. B: Two rows of small whitish dots along each side in the Southern Blackbelly Salamander; no rows of dots: a net of dark, worm-like lines in the Seal Salamander. C: Dark brown to black, mottled with rusty blotches in the Southern Blackbelly Salamander; lighter brown with bold dark worm-like blotches in the Seal Salamander. D: Heavier, with a bigger, deeper head; up to 7 or 8 in in the Southern Blackbelly Salamander; slimmer, with a smaller head; up to about 5.5 in in the Seal Salamander.

Open this comparison in Wildsight

Southern Blackbelly Salamander

Desmognathus amphileucus

Seal Salamander

Desmognathus monticola

Photographs via iNaturalist under Creative Commons licences; the photographers are credited on the sheet.

More comparisons

Wildsight identifies the reptiles and amphibians of the United States. Every comparison