Details
Necturus maculosus
The common mudpuppy is a fully aquatic salamander of North American lakes and rivers. Adults retain external gills and walk the bottom at night in search of prey.
Map: Ecoregions 2017 © RESOLVE (CC BY 4.0) · Natural Earth (PD)
It lives in Nearctic lakes, rivers, and large ponds with stones, logs, and other bottom cover. Cool, well-oxygenated water and daytime refuges are important.
Length is 20-33 cm and weight 100-350 g. It has a stout body, flat head, reddish bushy external gills, a compressed tail, and grey-brown skin with dark spots.
Nocturnal and mostly solitary, it walks along the bottom and shelters beneath rocks or logs. It remains active in cold water when many amphibians are inactive.
A carnivore, it eats crayfish, aquatic insects, snails, worms, and small fish. It follows scent along the bottom and sucks prey into a wide mouth.
Females lay eggs under submerged stones or logs and remain nearby until hatching. Young live in water like adults and keep their external gills as they grow.
It is listed as Least Concern. Local animals are sensitive to polluted water and altered streambeds, making clean water and bottom cover important.
