Northern Spring Salamander
Gyrinophilus porphyriticus porphyriticus
Conservation Status:
State Status: Imperiled (NatureServe, 2025)
State Listing: Threatened (DEEP, 2015)
Global Assessment: Least Concern (IUCN, 2020)
Description
Northern spring salamanders grow up to eight inches long (Watkins-Colwell, 2025). They are orange with darker brown marbling across their bodies. They have laterally flattened tails.
Habitat
These salamanders can be found in or near cold, running freshwater, primarily brooks, streams, and springs.
Behavior
Spring salamanders eat small invertebrates. Eggs are laid in the summer under rocks or logs in moist areas and hatch into aquatic larvae. They remain as larvae for multiple years before undergoing metamorphosis (Watkins-Colwell, 2025).
Their primary predators are snakes. When threatened, they may tuck their head under their tail and secrete toxins (Quinn, 2020).
Range
References
​ Department of Energy and Environmental Protection. (2015, August 5). Endangered, Threatened, and Special Concern Amphibians. Connecticut. https://portal.ct.gov/deep/endangered-species/endangered-species-listings/endangered-threatened--special-concern-amphibians.
iNaturalist. (2024). Observations. California Academy of the Sciences / National Geographic Society. https://www.inaturalist.org/observations?place_id=49&taxon_id=27500.
International Union for Conservation Of Nature and Natural Resources. (2020, December 21). Spring Salamander. https://www.iucnredlist.org/species/59282/193373844.
Klemens, M. W. et al. (2021). Conservation of Amphibians and Reptiles in Connecticut. Department of Energy and Environmental Protection. https://ctdeepstore.com/products/conservation-of-amphibians-reptiles-in-connecticut.
NatureServe. (2025, January 31). Gyrinophilus porphyriticus. https://explorer.natureserve.org/Taxon/ELEMENT_GLOBAL.2.100971/Gyrinophilus_porphyriticus.
Quinn, D. P. (2020). Northern Spring Salamander. Connecticut Herpetology. https://www.ctherpetology.com/northern-spring-salamander.
Watkins-Colwell, G. J. (2025). Northern Spring Salamander - Gyrinophilus poryphoriticus. Yale Peabody Museum. https://peabody.yale.edu/explore/collections/herpetology/guide-amphibians-reptiles-connecticut. ​​​
Page updated March 29, 2025