Often found at mouths of caves or in similar cool, moist habitats. Color bright orange with irregular dark spots. Sides of tail same as body. 
Arkansas Herpetological Atlas 2019
This species is represented by 956 records from 37 sources: 854 museum (
), 0 literature (
), 0 research (
), and 82 observation (
), with 20 additional Trauth et al. (2004) locality points remaining unsourced (
). It has been museum vouchered for 19 of 75 counties (), with 2 additional counties having other forms of reported occurrence (). Years of collection range from 1913 to present.
This species inhabits karst topographies of the Ozark Highlands and northern portions of the Boston Mountains. Hybridization with E. melanopleura has been detected in genetic studies (R. M. Bonett, pers. comm.).
