Heh, lots of possibilities up there. Duskies and neoteny don't go together; he doesn't really have the dusky look in any case. I'm going to lay it down that he's in the old tribe Hemidactyliini (I think it's Speleomantini now, but I could be wrong). That would make him a Eurycea, Pseudotriton, or Gyrinophilus. The color is typical of a larval red (they don't start to brighten up until they're fairly big) or spring, but he seems a little slim, more like a Eurycea.

I wouldn't want to hazard a guess beyond that without a clearer photo. How big was he? What habitat?