[1][4] It and the West Virginia spring salamander (Gyrinophilus subterraneus) are the only vertebrate species with geographic ranges restricted to that state.

The Cheat Mountain salamander is smallish, similar in size to the red-backed salamander, 3 to 4¾ inches (7½ to 12 cm) in total length (including tail), but is distinct in its black or dark brown dorsum (back) which is boldly marked with numerous small brassy, silver or white flecks.

[5] P. nettingi was discovered by Netting and Leonard Llewellyn on White Top, a summit of Cheat Mountain in Randolph County, West Virginia, in 1935.

The circumstances surrounding the discovery and formal description of P. nettingi are related by Maurice Brooks in his classic natural history book, The Appalachians (1965).

Later inventories, conducted in the 1970s and ‘80s, expanded the known range to include Pendleton and Tucker Counties (e.g., Backbone Mountain, Dolly Sods).

More recently, the range has been shown to include the eastern edge of Grant County where it is found as low as 2,640 feet (800 m) elevation.

The salamander's occurrence, however, is not dependent upon any particular type of vegetation, but is often associated with boulder fields, rock outcrops, or steep, shaded ravines lined with a dense growth of rhododendron.

The young undergo their larval stage within the egg so that they resemble small adults when they hatch in late August or September.

Populations of the Cheat Mountain salamander probably plummeted when its original habitat (red spruce forests) was destroyed by logging in the early 20th century.

[2][3] Any disturbance exposing the forest floor to sunlight changes the cool, moist conditions on which these animals depend for nest sites as well as food and respiration.

Alterations as minor as clearing service roads or hiking or skiing trails can fragment and isolate populations since these salamanders do not cross bare surfaces.

Fish and Wildlife Service (USFWS) and annual surveys are conducted by Thomas K. Pauley (Marshall University), an authority on this species.