[5] The yonahlossee's back has a black base color and is covered by reddish-brown to red blotches depending on age.

Typically, juveniles are more spotted, while in older individuals, the reddish blotches come together to form a wide band spanning the length of their backs.

[5] P. yonahlossee can be found in the southern Blue Ridge Mountains of northern Tennessee, western North Carolina, and small portions of southwest Virginia.

These Bat Cave variants may have red of the dorsum prominent, patchy, or even lacking, and their sides are dark with light spots.

The coloration of the Bat Cave variant is much darker than the common P. yonahlossee, and some scientists still consider them to be a separate species.

Courtship is assumed to occur in early August, as this is the time pairs of salamanders have been found under a single cover object and males have noticeably enlarged mental glands.

Each stage is carnivorous and eats small insects and invertebrates, including mites, spiders, millipedes, centipedes, and earthworms.

Also, after initial contact, they become immobile, making them harder to detect, which may increase survival from visual predators.

[1] Criteria for this listing include occurrence in an area of extensive, suitable habitat which appears to not be under any substantial threat, an assumed large population, and a slow rate of decline.

Concurrently, others are viewing the same species over the entire range and are reporting that many populations have been lost to habitat destruction, which includes urban sprawl and increased forestry practices.