Identification-  4.5-6.5" (x cm)  Moderately large, black salamander with numerous white flecks on both its back and sides.  Venter is light to dark gray and unmarked.  16 costal grooves.
    Similar Species-  Unlike Wehrle's Salamander, the Slimy Salamander has white flecks on dorsum and gray throat (not white.)  Some mole salamanders are similar, but lack naso-labial groove.

Range-  Southern and Western New York and all of Pennsylvania
 

Habitat-  Moist wooded hillsides.  Often found some distance from water.  Most often encountered beneath large flat rocks or rotting logs in deciduous forest.

Reproduction-  Males have large conspicuous mental gland.  Mating may occur anytime from spring to fall, but most breed in fall.  Individual males breed yearly while females breed on a biannual schedule.  Courtship begins with a "foot dance" where male rhythmically lifts first one foot and then another as if keeping time.  The pair then perform a tail-straddle walk similar to other lungless salamanders.  Six to thirty six eggs are laid in a globular cluster and suspended from some type of cover.  Females remain with the eggs throughout the incubation period.  The young hatch in late summer.  There is no larval stage.  Maturity is reached in 3 years.

General Characteristics-
 The Slimy Salamander is one of the more common salamanders throughout much of its range.  Its name comes from the sticky skin secretions it produces when handled.  These secretions can be difficult to remove and act as a deterrent against predators.  Still, Slimy Salamanders are sometimes taken by Garter Snakes, Copperheads, and other predators.  Nocturnal, many can be found on nights with warm rains.  Like most woodland salamanders, Slimy Salamanders feed on terrestrial invertebrates.  On rare occasions, Slimy Salamanders may give an audible squeak when roughly handled.