There are four toes on both front and rear feet. The pupil of the eye is black, the iris is brassy. Costal grooves number 14-16 and are more conspicuous in juveniles. The Dwarf mudpuppy lives in small, somewhat sluggish streams of the Coastal Plain. During the winter months adults congregate in leaf beds.
Juveniles create burrows in slimy stream bottoms.
Dwarf mudpuppies are sexually mature at five years of age. This species is more common in the Northeast United States and is list as a species of Special Concern in North Carolina. It can be found in the Holston, Clinch and French Broad River systems, and occasionally the Little Tennessee River drainage system. They are abundant in clear water of lakes and streams of this region but can also be found in muddy, weed-choked bays and coves, canals, and drainage ditches. This neotenic species is identified by its maroon gills, a dark stripe through the eyes, and having the head behind the eyes broad and swollen, tapering in front to a truncated snout.