Caecilians
- Order: Gymnophiona (Apoda)
- Primarily fossorial (eyes beneath bone, hard head, limbless)
- Tentacles (chemosensory organs)
- internal fertilization through phallodeum
Salamander order
- Order: Caudata (Urodela)
- all are predators
- skin has granular (poison) and mucous glands
- paedomorphosis in some species (external gills and absence of eyelids)
Skeletal features of Caudata
- separate radius and ulna (same as humans)
- elongated spinal column
Siren family
- Sirenidae
- Eel-like/slender
- Paedomorphic features
- No hindlimbs
Hellbender and Asiatic Giant Salamanders (family and characteristics)
- Cryptobranchidae
- Largest extant salamanders
- external fertilization
Hellbender (latin name, characteristics, range)
- Cryptobranchus alleganiensis
- 5 toes on hind limbs, 4 on fore limbs
- diet consists of crayfish
- largest salamander in western hemisphere by mass
- Restricted to 2 specific watersheds
Asiatic land salamanders (family and characteristics)
- Family Hynobiidae
- external fertilization
- relatively small bodied
Newts and European salamanders (family and characteristics)
- Family Salamandridae
- -No coastal grooves
- Internal fertilization
- typically bright colors
Eastern (red-spotted) newt
- Notophthalmus viridescens
- deposits eggs singly, wrapped in vegetation
- efts in forests, adults in ponds, lakes, slow-moving rivers
- very wide range across NY
Mole salamanders (family and characteristics)
- Family Ambystomatidae
- Fossorial
- breed in late winter/early spring
- no nasolabian grooves
Pacific giant salamanders (genus and characteristics)
- Genus: Dicamptodon
- people say this group should be within the Ambystomatidae
- one of largest terrestrial salamanders
- BITER
Spotted salamander (name, characteristic, range)
- Ambystoma maculatum
- Spectacular migrations on first rainy nights of spring
- Common throughout NY
Jefferson’s Salamander (name, characteristic, range)
- Ambystoma jeffersonianum
- larger than BSS with elongated legs and toes
- very patchy range throughout NY
Blue-spotted salamander (name, characteristic, range)
- Ambystoma laterale
- smaller than JS with short legs
- prefers sandy or loamy soils
- statewide distribution but very patchy
Interestiing/unusal things about hybrids of the JS and BSS
- Unisex
- Parthenogenetic reproduction
- Polyploidy
Marbled salamander (name, characteristic, range)
- Ambystoma opacum
- breed in fall, females guard nest
- Range limited to southern NY, possible due to severe weathers
(Eastern) tiger salamander
- Ambystoma tigrinum
- NY’s largest terrestrial salamander
- Most widely distributed salamander in NA
- Restricted to long island in NY
Waterdogs, mudpuppies, and the olm (family and characteristics)
- Family Proteidae
- fully aquatic, paedomorphic
(Common) Mudpuppy (name, characteristics, range)
- Necturus maculosus
- 4 toes on all 4 limbs
- External gills, also breathes through skin
- spotty range in central/northern NY
Torrent salamanders (family and characteristics)
- Family Rhyacotritonidae
- reduced lungs
- larval stage lasts 3-5 years
Amphiumas or Congo eels (family and characteristics)
- Family Amphiumidae
- heavy bodied- eel-like with 4 tiny limbs
- Paedomorphic
- survives drought by burrowing and aestivation for 2+ years
- different spp distinguished by amount of toes
Lungless salamanders (family and characteristics)
- Family Plethodontidae
- most diverse and species-rich salamander family
- Cutaneous respiration (breathe through skin)
- Nasolabial grooves (aid in chemoreception)
Northern dusky salamander (name, range, characteristics)
- Desmognathus fuscus
- keeled tail (improves swimming)
- eye strip
- distributed widely across NY
Allegheny mountain dusky salamander (name, range, characteristics)
- Desmognathus ochrophaeus
- rounded tail
- ventures further from water than northern dusky
- wide range across NY, more popular in western NY
