When I first approached I thought it was dead because of all the black marks on it. Never seen another dekays like this. FB snake group said either an infection, healed old injuries, or just a different morph. What say y’all? It was very active and lively so I left it be! Considered making the 3 hour round trip to take it to wildlife rehab, but decided to leave it be.
Found while raining early one morning.
Might be D. lycos (depending on what taxonomy is used) formerly part of D. fuscus lineage C, or, the darker belly might indicate D. bairdi, formerly D. fuscus lineage D? However, from personal observation, areas that Pyron and Beamer indicate have D. lycos (which "should" have whitish belly with dark speckling) have some Desmos that have darker bellies like this - not sure if those represent lycos or bairdi. This one seemed somewhat robust and with a thick, flattened tail - maybe more like lycos. So, maybe conflicting characteristics.
Northern Dusky Salamander Desmognathus fuscus fuscus near Charlotte Court House, VA
Northern Dusky Salamander Desmognathus fuscus near Charlotte Court House, VA