Red-cheeked Salamander

Also known as Jordan's Salamander, Redcheek Salamander, Great Smoky Mountains Salamander

Red-cheeked salamanders inhabit cool, moist forest floors across the high peaks of the Great Smoky Mountains. Lacking lungs entirely, these amphibians absorb oxygen directly through their damp skin and spend dry days hidden beneath decaying logs or deep leaf litter. On rainy nights, they emerge to hunt small forest invertebrates, relying on bright reddish-orange cheek patches to warn predators of noxious skin secretions.