Aquatic. Large and eel-like. Four diminutive limbs with three toes each. External gills absent. 
Arkansas Herpetological Atlas 2019
This species is represented by 159 records from 16 sources: 121 museum (
), 0 literature (
), 0 research (
), and 24 observation (
), with 14 additional Trauth et al. (2004) locality points remaining unsourced (
). It has been museum vouchered for 29 of 75 counties (), with 9 additional counties having other forms of reported occurrence (). Years of collection range from 1889 to present.
This species occurs throughout the South Central Plains and Mississippi Alluvial Plain, ascending the Arkansas Valley to Morrilton, Conway County. A record from southern Polk County (UAFMC 0068-0735-1708 from 1957) is questionable. A record traced to the Ozark Biological Laboratory, Imboden, Lawrence County (AMNH 36393 from 1930; not shown), is suspected to reference the institution source rather than collection site.
