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Mole Salamanders

Ambystomatidae

 

Order Caudata

The mole salamanders are a group of salamanders endemic to North America, the only genus is Ambystoma.

 

Characteristics

  • Medium to large terrestrial salamanders
     
  • Mole salamanders are identified by having wide, protruding eyes, prominent costal grooves, thick arms, and rounded tails.
     
  • Most have vivid patterning on dark backgrounds, with marks ranging from deep blue spots to large yellow bars depending on the species.
     
  • The majority of the species in this family spend most of the year underground in rodent burrows and emerge only on rainy nights to mate and feed.
     

Range

They occur only in North America from southern Canada south to Mexico City.

 

Genera (in our collection)

Ambystoma

Kuribo, CC BY-SA 3.0 <https://creativecommons.org/licenses/by-sa/3.0>, via Wikimedia Commons

Camazine at English Wikipedia, CC BY-SA 3.0 <https://creativecommons.org/licenses/by-sa/3.0>, via Wikimedia Commons