Red River waterdog

Apparently Secure  (NatureServe)
Scientific classification Edit this classification
Domain: Eukaryota
Kingdom: Animalia
Phylum: Chordata
Class: Amphibia
Order: Urodela
Family: Proteidae
Genus: Necturus
Species:
N. louisianensis
Binomial name
Necturus louisianensis
Viosca, 1938
Synonyms

Necturus maculosus louisianensis

The Red River waterdog (Necturus louisianensis), also called Louisiana waterdog, is a species of aquatic salamander in the family Proteidae.

Taxonomy

Some taxonomic authorities consider this salamander to be a subspecies of the common mudpuppy (N. maculosus) as N. maculosus louisianensis, or the Red River mudpuppy. The Red River waterdog was proposed as a separate species from the common mudpuppy by Collins in 1991 and 1997, but supporting data was lacking. Petranka (1998)[1] and Crother (2000) both treated this animal as a subspecies.[2] Phylogenetic and morphological analyses done by Chabbaria et al. 2018, confirmed them as being distinct species.[3][4] However, some authorities still keep it as a subspecies.[5]

Geographic range

It is found in southeastern Kansas, southern Missouri, northeastern Oklahoma, Arkansas, and northcentral Louisiana. It lives only in the Red River and adjacent drainage systems.[6]

Description

It is much different in appearance from the common mudpuppy which is gray to brown, with round blue-black spots. The Red River mudpuppy is light yellowish brown with a white stripe on either side of the middorsal area.[6]

Diet and behavior

It eats mainly small underwater animals. Its feathery gills mean that it can breathe only underwater not on land. It and many other mudpuppies can still go on land, but not for a very long time. They go on land only if the water is too dirty so they can find cleaner water in another part of the river.

References

  1. ↑ Petranka, J.W. (1998). Salamanders of the United States and Canada. Smithsonian Institution Press ISBN 1588343081.
  2. ↑ Geoffrey Hammerson (2004) Necturus maculosus. In: IUCN 2012. IUCN Red List of Threatened Species. Version 2012.2.
  3. ↑ "Necturus louisianensis Viosca, 1938 | Amphibian Species of the World". amphibiansoftheworld.amnh.org. Retrieved 2021-12-16.
  4. ↑ Chabarria, Ryan E.; Murray, Christopher M.; Moler, Paul E.; Bart, Henry L.; Crother, Brian I.; Guyer, Craig (2018). "Evolutionary insights into the North American Necturus beyeri complex (Amphibia: Caudata) based on molecular genetic and morphological analyses". Journal of Zoological Systematics and Evolutionary Research. 56 (3): 352–363. doi:10.1111/jzs.12203. ISSN 1439-0469.
  5. ↑ "AmphibiaWeb - Necturus maculosus". amphibiaweb.org. Retrieved 2021-12-16.
  6. 1 2 Conant, Roger (1975). A Field Guide to Reptiles and Amphibians of Eastern and Central North America, 2nd edition. Houghton Mifflin. Boston.
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