This species is a black salamander with yellow spots on its back as warning coloration, but none on its belly.

Various subspecies have different patterns of colours, for example, S. i. orientalis is virtually identical to S. i. infraimmaculata, but has a large number of yellow dots all over its body.

Another subspecies, S. i. semenovi, has a more rounded head and rose-shaped spots over the top part of the body.

For example, in Iran, it inhabits open cork forests with scattered trees, while in Turkey and Lebanon, it can be found in damp woods and groves in mountainous and hilly regions, especially near water.

[1][2] In spring, to infester their reproductive chances, those animals tend to grow singular yellowish swelling around their eyes: the bigger those heaves are, the better possibilities they have to find a female partner.

During the hottest months of summer they may aestivate, depending on location, and individuals at higher elevations hibernate during the winter.

[8] Adults live on land and feed on insects, earthworms, slugs, snails, other small invertebrates, and even young salamanders of other species.

They are not all deposited at one time, and the female visits several ponds, choosing ones without large salamander larvae already present and those with plenty of crevices in which the young tadpoles hide.

[11] When born, the larvae weigh about 20 g (0.7 oz) and already have two pairs of legs and two sets of external gills.

[12] Tadpoles grow in size to about 5–7 cm (2.0–2.8 in) before undergoing metamorphosis which takes place after two to four months.

It is considered to be threatened in Israel and Lebanon due to road building and the pollution of water bodies by pesticides.

The introduction of predatory fish such as the mosquitofish (Gambusia affinis) can severely impact the number of tadpoles that survive to adulthood.