Scientific Name – Dicamptodon tenebrosus

Classification – Ambystomatidae

Baby Name – Efts

Collective Noun – Congress, band or maelstrom

Average Length – Up to 34 cm (13 in)

Average Weight – 22 to 114 g

Speed – Fast creature

Life Expectancy – Not known

Breeding Season – Spring through fall

Incubation Period – 6 to 7 months

Metamorphosis Period – Around 2 years

Special Features – Possess four toes on the front feet and five toes on the back feet; broad head with a shovel-like snout; possess a fold of skin across the throat known as the  gular fold; light brown or brassy-colored head, back and sides with a marbled or reticulate pattern of dark uneven patches; capable of vocalizing

Family Unit – Solitary except during the breeding season

Geographical Distribution – The United States and Canada

World Population – Unknown, but believed to exceed 10,000

Conservation Status – Least Concern

Natural Habitat – Small to medium-sized streams, near or in mountain streams, ponds and lakes, humid riverside forests

Diet – Larvae feed on a wide variety of invertebrates while adults feed on aquatic organisms and also terrestrial prey like mice and shrews

Predators – Weasels, Garter snakes, Salmonids, water shrews, river otters