Necturus maculosus
| Common mudpuppy | |
|---|---|
 |
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| Scientific classification | |
| Kingdom: | Animalia |
| Phylum: | Chordata |
| Class: | Amphibia |
| Order: | Caudata |
| Family: | Proteidae |
| Genus: | Necturus |
| Species: | N. maculosus |
| Binomial name | |
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Necturus maculosus (Rafinesque, 1818) |
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| Synonyms | |
|
Sirena maculosa Rafinesque, 1818 |
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Sirena maculosa Rafinesque, 1818
The common mudpuppy (Necturus maculosus) is a species of salamander in the genus Necturus. They live an entirely aquatic lifestyle in the eastern part of North America in lakes, rivers, and ponds. They go through paedomorphosis and retain their external gills, thus resembling axolotls. Because skin and lung respiration alone is not sufficient for gas exchange, mudpuppies must rely on external gills as their primary means of gas exchange. They are usually a rusty brown color and can grow to an average length of 33 cm (13 in). Mudpuppies are nocturnal creatures, and only come out during the day if the water in which they live is murky. Their diets consist of almost anything they can get in their mouths, including insects, earthworms, mollusks, and annelids. Once a female mudpuppy reaches sexual maturity, at six years of age, she can lay an average of 60 eggs. In the wild, the average lifespan of a mudpuppy is 11 years. Because of their prevalence and larger size than other salamanders, mudpuppies are good organisms for dissections.
Mudpuppies can be a rusty brown color with gray and black and usually have blackish-blue spots, but some albino adults have been reported in Arkansas. In clear, light water, their skin gets darker, likewise in darker water, their skin gets lighter in color. At sexual maturity, mudpuppies can be 20 cm (8 in) long and continue to grow to an average length of 33 cm (13 in), though specimens up to 43.5 cm (17.1 in) have been reported. Their external gills resemble ostrich plumes and their size depends on the oxygen levels present in the water. In stagnant water, mudpuppies have larger gills, whereas in running streams where oxygen is more prevalent, they have smaller gills. The distal portions of the gills are very filamentous and contain many capillaries. Mudpuppies also have small, flattened limbs that can be used for slowly walking on the bottoms of streams or ponds, or they can be flattened against the body during short swimming spurts. They have mucous glands which provide a slimy protective coating, and granular glands that secrete poison used as defense against predators.
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Wikipedia