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Spotted Dusky Salamander vs. Northern Zigzag Salamander

Both are small brown salamanders of the southern Illinois hills, often under the same rocks. The Spotted Dusky has a pale line from behind the eye to the angle of the jaw, hind legs much heavier than the front, a tail keeled above, and pairs of golden spots down the back; the Zigzag has no jaw line, legs of equal size, a round tail, a wavy or zigzag-edged stripe (or a dark form with a patch of orange where the front leg meets the body).

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Spotted Dusky Salamander

Desmognathus conanti

Northern Zigzag Salamander

Plethodon dorsalis
Spotted Dusky Salamander vs. Northern Zigzag Salamander: comparison sheet with the differences marked

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

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