The size and number of spots vary both within and among species in the complex. On the SRS, the animals are usually black with medium-sized white spots along the sides and with smaller and more widely spaced flecks on the back. The skin secretions, a defensive mechanism, may become stuck to the skin of collectors, not to mention the mouths of would-be predators, and require strenuous scrubbing to remove. Plethodon chlorobryonis is the only amphibian on the SRS without an aquatic larval phase. Eggs hatch directly into tiny versions of the adult.
Adults are most active after rains in the warmer months.
Males can be distinguished from females by the presence of a large circular gland, called the mental hedonic gland, beneath the chin. Adults range from nearly red in younger individuals to brown in older and larger specimens. Adults have brown eyes, as opposed to the gold eyes of P. ruber . Eggs are laid and larvae dwell in small muddy springs and seeps along slow flowing creeks. The red salamander is far more common on the SRS than its close relative, the mud salamander.