Like other species of cave salamanders, they are almost entirely subterranean, living in spring waters deep in limestone rock strata, so gauging the exact extent of their geographic range or even their population numbers is virtually impossible.

This also leads to reduced sampling for study, which has led to some uncertainty in the taxonomic classification; some sources consider all species of Texas cave salamanders to be subspecies of the Texas salamander.

The Cascade Caverns salamander is translucent, with a faint net-shaped pattern that is brown in color, often with white speckling.

They are neotenic, meaning they retain characteristics into adulthood that are usually associated with juvenile salamanders, such as external gills.

They have stout bodies, with short legs, and reduced eyes set under a layer of skin.