[3] Like these species, Webster's salamander is a small plethodontid with a wide range of color patterns on a dark brown background.

[4] P. websteri and P. ventralis have subtle but measurable differences in head shape, and this appears to be unrelated to their diet or broader climate conditions.

[3] Distinct subpopulations of P. websteri are genetically divergent, and the species is estimated to have split into two major clades approximately 5.3 million years ago.

Rivers would have altered local erosion patterns to bury or expose rocky areas, which salamanders depend on for summer shelter.

[3] Individuals forage on the forest floor from late October to early May, with activity levels and observations reaching their peak in the winter.

[6] Individuals are often assumed to take shelter underground during the inhospitable summer,[6] and drift fence experiments have helped to reveal exactly how this movement occurs.

As warmer months approach, salamanders travel on humid nights towards rock outcrops and crevasses, which allow access to cooler and moister underground refuge from summer heat.

Deep naturally-occurring refuges are particularly important to this species, which is among the southernmost members of the genus Plethodon and probably has poor burrowing ability due to its small and fragile build.

A few more northern plethodontids with a similar body shape (like the eastern red-backed salamander, P. cinereus) are also known to move into burrows for summer aestivation.

P. cinereus relies mostly on soil disturbances and burrows created by other animals, which may be too warm and shallow to be an effective solution for Webster's salamander.