[citation needed] It has four toes on the hind feet rather than the five normally found in other salamanders and newts.

It has a warty, brownish-black back, and a rather ribbed appearance on its flanks, with a creamy white, V-shaped mark between the eyes.

The spectacled salamander is most often found near streams, in dense vegetation, under leaf litter, dead wood, or stones.

When threatened, it raises its tail and legs (unkenreflex), displaying its red underside as a deterrent.

Similar warning displays (aposematism) are shown by newts, the Apennine yellow-bellied toad and the spotted salamander.