This species inhabits mountain streams, small rocky spring-fed brooks in hardwood-shaded ravines, seepages, and the muddy section of streams within mesic, hardwood forests (Petranka 1998). It hides under rocks or moss, and in burrows in mud banks. Individuals sometimes perch on wet rocks. It lays eggs in the water on the undersides of rocks or leaves, in seepages, and near water under or inside logs. This species gives rise to a free-living larval stage. It is unclear as to whether or not it is tolerant of habitat disturbance.

This species occurs in the eastern United States of America. It can be found from southwestern Pennsylvania southwest in uplands through West Virginia, western Maryland, western and northern Virginia, eastern Kentucky, western North Carolina, eastern Tennessee, western South Carolina, and northern Georgia to central Alabama and disjunctive to southern Alabama and the extreme western tip of the Florida panhandle (Conant and Collins 1991, Petranka 1998). Introduced subpopulations have been recorded in the Arkansas Ozarks, specifically within Benton County, Arkansas (Bonett et al. 2007, Bush et al. 2017). It does not occur north or west of the Ohio River in the northern part of the range. This species is most commonly found at elevations between 1,219-1,372 m asl, although they can occur up to 1,555 m asl (Green et al. 2014).

Conservation Actions In-Place
This species occurs in many protected areas. 

Conservation Needed
Continued and strengthened management of the protected areas where this species occurs, and expanded protection of suitable habitat elsewhere in its range, are needed.

Research Needed
Further research on this species' distribution, population size and trends is recommended. Presence surveys should be a high priority in Arkansas, as well as in surrounding states including Oklahoma, Missouri, Kansas due to the potential threats this species could pose as an invader (Bush et al. 2017).