Common mudpuppy

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Common mudpuppy
Temporal range: Paleocene - Recent [1]
Necturus maculosus maculosus.jpg
Scientific classification OOjs UI icon edit-ltr.svg
Domain: Eukaryota
Kingdom: Animalia
Phylum: Chordata
Class: Amphibia
Order: Urodela
Family: Proteidae
Genus: Necturus
Species:
N. maculosus
Binomial name
Necturus maculosus
(Rafinesque, 1818)
Necturus maculosus map.svg
Range of N. maculosus
Synonyms

Sirena maculosa Rafinesque, 1818

The common mudpuppy (Necturus maculosus) is a species of salamander in the family Proteidae. [3] It lives an entirely aquatic lifestyle in parts of North America in lakes, rivers, and ponds. It goes through paedomorphosis and retains it external gills. [4] Because skin and lung respiration alone is not sufficient for gas exchange, the common mudpuppy must rely on external gills as its primary means of gas exchange. [5] It is usually a rusty brown color [6] and can grow to an average total length (including tail) of 13 in (330 mm). [7] It is a nocturnal creature, and is active during the day only if the water in which it lives is murky. [3] Its diet consists of almost anything it can get into its mouth, including insects, mollusks, and earthworms (as well as other annelids). [6] Once a female common mudpuppy reaches sexual maturity at six years of age, she can lay an average of 60 eggs. [6] In the wild, the average lifespan of a common mudpuppy is 11 years. [8]

Contents

Appearance

The common mudpuppy can be a rusty brown color with gray and black and usually has blackish-blue spots, but some albino adults have been reported in Arkansas. [6] In clear, light water, their skin gets darker, likewise in darker water, their skin gets lighter in color. [5] 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. [7] 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. [4] The distal portions of the gills are very filamentous and contain many capillaries. [7] Mudpuppies also have small, flattened limbs which 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. [7] They have mucous glands which provide a slimy protective coating [4]

Neoteny

Mudpuppies are one of many species of salamanders that fail to undergo metamorphosis. Most hypotheses surrounding the origin of Necturus's lack of metamorphosis concern the effectiveness of the thyroid gland. The thyroid gland in some salamanders, like the axolotl, produce normal thyroid hormones (THs), but cells in the organism express thyroid hormone receptors (TR) that are mutated, and do not bond correctly with thyroid hormones, leading to some salamanders in a state of perpetual juvenile-hood. [9] In contrast to axolotls, in mudpuppies, these THs are normally expressed. However, it is believed that instead of having TH-insensitive tissues that block the effects of THs, some mudpuppy tissues, such as the external gills, have lost the ability to be regulated by TH over time. [10] This selective insensitivity to THs suggests a normal level of activity in the hypothalamo-pituitary-thyroid axis in developing mudpuppies, unlike other salamander species.

The common mudpuppy also does not have a parathyroid gland. [11] The majority of salamanders with parathyroid glands rely on them to help with hypercalcemic regulation; hypercalcemic regulation in mudpuppies is primarily done by the pituitary gland instead. [11] In common mudpuppies, the purpose of the absence of a parathyroid gland is poorly understood. One reason for the absence might be the lack of variability in the climate of mudpuppies, as the parathyroid glands of salamanders vary greatly depending on seasonal changes, or whether the organism hibernates. [12]

Distribution

Necturus maculosus specimens live in streams, lakes, and ponds in the eastern part of North America. [4] They appear in the southern section of Canada, as far south as Georgia, and from the Midwest United States to North Carolina. Behaviorally, they hide under cover such as rocks and logs during the day and become more active at night. [7] However, in muddy waters, the mudpuppy may become active during the day. [3] Mudpuppies can even live under the ice when lakes freeze. [3] There is an introduced population in Maine. [13]

Diet

A) Overall view of common mudpuppy mouth. B) Ventral view of vomerine and premaxillary teeth, located on the upper part of the mudpuppy mouth. C) Lower jaw, or dentary from a common mudpuppy showing the homodont dentary teeth. Specimen from the Pacific Lutheran University Natural History collection Composite photo of mudpuppy mouth.jpg
A) Overall view of common mudpuppy mouth. B) Ventral view of vomerine and premaxillary teeth, located on the upper part of the mudpuppy mouth. C) Lower jaw, or dentary from a common mudpuppy showing the homodont dentary teeth. Specimen from the Pacific Lutheran University Natural History collection

Mudpuppies use rows of teeth to eat their prey. [5] Salamanders have three different sets of teeth: dentary, premaxillary, and vomerine teeth, which are named due to their location in the mouth. [14] All the teeth, despite their different locations, are very similar. They are small and conical, meaning mudpuppies are homodonts due to their similar shape. [15] [16] The common mudpuppy never leaves its aquatic environment and therefore does not undergo morphogenesis; however, many salamanders do and develop differentiated teeth. [17] Aquatic salamander teeth are used to hinder escape of the prey from the salamander; they do not have a crushing function. [17] This aids the salamander when feeding. When the salamander performs the "suck and gape" feeding style, the prey is pulled into the mouth, and the teeth function to hold the prey inside the mouth and prevent the prey from escaping. [14] At both sides of their mouths their lips interlock, which allows them to use suction feeding. [7] They are carnivorous creatures and will eat almost anything they can get into their mouths. Typically they prey upon animals such as insects and their larvae, [18] mollusks, annelids, crayfish, [19] small fish, amphibians, earthworms, and spiders. The jaw of a mudpuppy also plays a significant role in its diet. The mudpuppy jaw is considered metaautostyly, like most amphibians, meaning the jaw is more stable and that the salamander has a dentary. [15] This affects their diet by limiting the flexibility of the jaw to take in larger prey. The mudpuppy has few predators which may include fish, crayfish, turtles, and water snakes. Fishermen also frequently catch and discard them. [6]

Reproduction

Mudpuppies take six years to reach sexual maturity. [7] Mating typically takes place in autumn, though eggs are not laid till much later. [4] When males are ready to breed, their cloacae become swollen. Males deposit their spermatophores in the substratum of the environment. The female will then pick them up with her cloaca and store them in a small specialized gland, a spermatheca, until the eggs are fertilized. [6] Females store the sperm until ovulation and internal fertilization take place, usually just prior to deposition in the spring. [7] Before the eggs are deposited, male mudpuppies leave the nest. [6] Once ready, the female deposits the eggs in a safe location, usually on the underside of a rock or log. [7] They can lay from 20 to 200 eggs, [4] usually an average of 60. [6] The eggs are not pigmented and are about 5–6 mm (0.20–0.24 in) mm in diameter. The female stays with her eggs during the incubation period (around 40 days). Hatchlings are about 2.5 cm (0.98 in) long and grow to 3.6 cm (1.4 in) before the yolk is completely consumed. [7]

Subspecies

Three subspecies are recognized as being valid, including the nominotypical subspecies.

Nota bene : A trinomial authority in parentheses indicates that the subspecies was originally described in a genus other than Necturus .

Related Research Articles

<span class="mw-page-title-main">Amphibian</span> Class of ectothermic tetrapods

Amphibians are ectothermic, anamniotic, four-limbed vertebrate animals that constitute the class Amphibia. In its broad sense, it is paraphyletic group encompassing all tetrapods excluding the amniotes. All extant (living) amphibians belong to the monophyletic subclass Lissamphibia, with three living orders: Anura (frogs), Urodela (salamanders), and Gymnophiona (caecilians). Evolved to be mostly semiaquatic, amphibians have adapted to inhabit a wide variety of habitats, with most species living in freshwater, wetland or terrestrial ecosystems. Their life cycle typically starts out as aquatic larvae with gills known as tadpoles, but some species have developed behavioural adaptations to bypass this.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">Hellbender</span> Species of amphibian

The hellbender, also known as the hellbender salamander, is a species of aquatic giant salamander endemic to the eastern and central United States. It is the largest salamander in North America. A member of the family Cryptobranchidae, the hellbender is the only extant member of the genus Cryptobranchus. Other closely related salamanders in the same family are in the genus Andrias, which contains the Japanese and Chinese giant salamanders. The hellbender, which is much larger than all other salamanders in its geographic range, employs an unusual means of respiration, and fills a particular niche—both as a predator and prey—in its ecosystem, which either it or its ancestors have occupied for around 65 million years. The species is listed as Vulnerable on the IUCN Red List of Threatened Species due to the impacts of disease and widespread habitat loss and degradation throughout much of its range.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">Salamander</span> Order of amphibians

Salamanders are a group of amphibians typically characterized by their lizard-like appearance, with slender bodies, blunt snouts, short limbs projecting at right angles to the body, and the presence of a tail in both larvae and adults. All ten extant salamander families are grouped together under the order Urodela from the group Caudata. Salamander diversity is highest in eastern North America, especially in the Appalachian Mountains; most species are found in the Holarctic realm, with some species present in the Neotropical realm.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">Thyroid</span> Endocrine gland in the neck; secretes hormones that influence metabolism

The thyroid, or thyroid gland, is an endocrine gland in vertebrates. In humans, it is in the neck and consists of two connected lobes. The lower two thirds of the lobes are connected by a thin band of tissue called the isthmus (pl.: isthmi). The thyroid gland is a butterfly-shaped gland located in the neck below the Adam's apple. Microscopically, the functional unit of the thyroid gland is the spherical thyroid follicle, lined with follicular cells (thyrocytes), and occasional parafollicular cells that surround a lumen containing colloid. The thyroid gland secretes three hormones: the two thyroid hormones – triiodothyronine (T3) and thyroxine (T4) – and a peptide hormone, calcitonin. The thyroid hormones influence the metabolic rate and protein synthesis and growth and development in children. Calcitonin plays a role in calcium homeostasis. Secretion of the two thyroid hormones is regulated by thyroid-stimulating hormone (TSH), which is secreted from the anterior pituitary gland. TSH is regulated by thyrotropin-releasing hormone (TRH), which is produced by the hypothalamus.

<i>Amphiuma</i> Genus of amphibians

Amphiuma is a genus of aquatic salamanders from the United States, the only extant genus within the family Amphiumidae. They are colloquially known as amphiumas. They are also known to fishermen as "conger eels" or "Congo snakes", which are zoologically incorrect designations or misnomers, since amphiumas are actually salamanders, and not fish, nor reptiles and are not from Congo. Amphiuma exhibits one of the largest complements of DNA in the living world, around 25 times more than a human.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">Axolotl</span> Species of salamander

The axolotl is a paedomorphic salamander closely related to the tiger salamander. It is unusual among amphibians in that it reaches adulthood without undergoing metamorphosis. Instead of taking to the land, adults remain aquatic and gilled. The species was originally found in several lakes underlying what is now Mexico City, such as Lake Xochimilco and Lake Chalco. These lakes were drained by Spanish settlers after the conquest of the Aztec Empire, leading to the destruction of much of the axolotl's natural habitat.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">Amniote</span> Clade of tetrapods including reptiles, birds and mammals

Amniotes are tetrapod vertebrate animals belonging to the clade Amniota, a large group that comprises the vast majority of living terrestrial and semiaquatic vertebrates. Amniotes evolved from amphibian ancestors during the Carboniferous period and further diverged into two groups, namely the sauropsids and synapsids. They are distinguished from the other living tetrapod clade — the non-amniote lissamphibians — by the development of three extraembryonic membranes, thicker and keratinized skin, and costal respiration.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">Proteidae</span> Family of amphibians

The family Proteidae is a group of aquatic salamanders found today in the Balkan Peninsula and North America. The range of the genus Necturus runs from southern central Canada, through the midwestern United States, east to North Carolina and south to Georgia and Mississippi. The range of the olm, the only extant member of the genus Proteus, is limited to the Western Balkans. The fossil record of the family extends into the end of the Late Cretaceous, with Paranecturus being known from the Maastrichtian of North America.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">Caecilian</span> Order of amphibians

Caecilians are a group of limbless, vermiform (worm-shaped) or serpentine (snake-shaped) amphibians with small or sometimes nonexistent eyes. They mostly live hidden in soil or in streambeds, and this cryptic lifestyle renders caecilians among the least familiar amphibians. Modern caecilians live in the tropics of South and Central America, Africa, and southern Asia. Caecilians feed on small subterranean creatures such as earthworms. The body is cylindrical and often darkly coloured, and the skull is bullet-shaped and strongly built. Caecilian heads have several unique adaptations, including fused cranial and jaw bones, a two-part system of jaw muscles, and a chemosensory tentacle in front of the eye. The skin is slimy and bears ringlike markings or grooves and may contain scales.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">Olm</span> Species of amphibian

The olm or proteus is an aquatic salamander which is the only species in the genus Proteus of the family Proteidae and the only exclusively cave-dwelling chordate species found in Europe; the family's other extant genus is Necturus. In contrast to most amphibians, it is entirely aquatic, eating, sleeping, and breeding underwater. Living in caves found in the Dinaric Alps, it is endemic to the waters that flow underground through the extensive limestone bedrock of the karst of Central and Southeastern Europe in the basin of the Soča River near Trieste, Italy, southwestern Croatia, and Bosnia and Herzegovina. Introduced populations are found near Vicenza, Italy, and Kranj, Slovenia. It was first mentioned in 1689 by the local naturalist Valvasor in his Glory of the Duchy of Carniola, who reported that, after heavy rains, the olms were washed up from the underground waters and were believed by local people to be a cave dragon's offspring.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">Lake Patzcuaro salamander</span> Species of amphibian

The Lake Patzcuaro salamander, locally known as achoque, is a paedomorphic species of salamander found exclusively in Lake Pátzcuaro, a high-altitude lake in the Mexican state of Michoacán. First described in 1870 by Alfredo Dugès, the species is named in honor of the French herpetologist Auguste Duméril. However, the salamander has been used as a food source and an ingredient in traditional medicines by the Purépecha people since the Pre-Columbian era. Ambystoma dumerilii are neotenic, meaning they retain their larval characteristics throughout their entire life. This results in adults that have long, heavily filamented external gills, gill slits lined with tooth-like gill rakers, and caudal fins. When stressed, Ambystoma dumerilii can undergo an incomplete metamorphosis, though this is process significantly decreases their lifespan and is often fatal.

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<i>Necturus</i> Genus of amphibians

Necturus is a genus of aquatic salamanders in the family Proteidae. Species of the genus are native to the eastern United States and Canada. They are commonly known as waterdogs and mudpuppies. The common mudpuppy (N. maculosus) is probably the best-known species – as an amphibian with gill slits, it is often dissected in comparative anatomy classes. The common mudpuppy has the largest distribution of any fully aquatic salamander in North America.

<i>Gerrothorax</i> Extinct genus of amphibians

Gerrothorax is an extinct genus of temnospondyl amphibian from the Triassic period of Greenland, Germany, Poland, Sweden, and possibly Thailand. It is known from a single species, G. pulcherrimus, although several other species such as G. pustuloglomeratus have been named in the past.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">Mouth</span> First portion of the alimentary canal that receives food

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<span class="mw-page-title-main">Branchial arch</span> Bony "loops" present in fish, which support the gills

Branchial arches, or gill arches, are a series of bony "loops" present in fish, which support the gills. As gills are the primitive condition of vertebrates, all vertebrate embryos develop pharyngeal arches, though the eventual fate of these arches varies between taxa. In jawed fish, the first arch develops into the jaws. The second gill arch develops into the hyomandibular complex, which supports the back of the jaw and the front of the gill series. The remaining posterior arches support the gills. In amphibians and reptiles, many elements are lost including the gill arches, resulting in only the oral jaws and a hyoid apparatus remaining. In mammals and birds, the hyoid is simplified further.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">Red River waterdog</span> Species of amphibian

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References

  1. ↑ "Fossilworks: Necturus ".
  2. ↑ IUCN SSC Amphibian Specialist Group (2015). "Necturus maculosus ". IUCN Red List of Threatened Species . 2015: e.T59433A64731610. doi: 10.2305/IUCN.UK.2015-4.RLTS.T59433A64731610.en . Retrieved 19 November 2021.
  3. 1 2 3 4 Mattison, Chris (2005). "Mudpuppy." in Encyclopedia of Reptiles and Amphibians: An Essential Guide to Reptiles and Amphibians of the World. Thunder Bay Press, pp. 32–33.
  4. 1 2 3 4 5 6 Halliday, Tim R., and Kraig Adler (editors) (1986). "Salamanders and Newts." The Encyclopaedia of Reptiles and Amphibians. Oxford: George Allen and Unwin, pp. 18–31.
  5. 1 2 3 Chiasson, Richard B (1969). Laboratory Anatomy of Necturus, Third Edition. Dubuque: Wm. C. Brown.
  6. 1 2 3 4 5 6 7 8 Petranka, James W. (1998). Salamanders of the United States and Canada. Washington: Smithsonian Institution.
  7. 1 2 3 4 5 6 7 8 9 10 Gans, C., and R.A. Nussbaum (1981). "The Mudpuppy". pp. 108–141. In: Wessells, Norman K., and Elizabeth M. Center (editors) (1981). Vertebrates, a Laboratory Text, Second Edition. Los Altos, California: W. Kaufmann.
  8. ↑ "Mudpuppies, Mudpuppy Pictures, Mudpuppy Facts". Animals, Animal Pictures, Wild Animal Facts – National Geographic. Web. 18 April 2010.
  9. ↑ "Axolotls as models in neoteny and secondary differentiation | Developmental Biology Interactive". www.devbio.biology.gatech.edu. Archived from the original on 2018-02-20. Retrieved 2017-03-19.
  10. ↑ Vlaeminck-Guillem, Virginie; Safi, Rachid; Guillem, Philippe; Leteurtre, Emmanuelle; Duterque-Coquillaud, Martine; Laudet, Vincent (2004-09-01). "Thyroid hormone receptor expression in the obligatory paedomorphic salamander Necturus maculosus ". The International Journal of Developmental Biology. 50 (Next): 553–560. doi: 10.1387/ijdb.052094vv . ISSN   0214-6282. PMID   16741870.
  11. 1 2 Duellman, William Edward (1994). Biology of Amphibians. Baltimore: The Johns Hopkins University Press.
  12. ↑ Cortelyou, John R.; McWhinnie, Dolores J. (1967). "Parathyroid Glands of Amphibians. I. Parathyroid Structure and Function in the Amphibian, with Emphasis on Regulation of Mineral Ions in Body Fluids". American Zoologist. 7 (4): 843–855. doi: 10.1093/icb/7.4.843 . JSTOR   3881518. PMID   5625439.
  13. ↑ "Reptiles & Amphibians: Species Information: Wildlife: Fish & Wildlife: Maine Dept of Inland Fisheries and Wildlife". www.maine.gov. Retrieved 5 September 2020.
  14. 1 2 Wessels, Norman K.; Center, Elizabeth M. (1992-01-01). Vertebrates. Jones & Bartlett Learning. ISBN   9780867208535.
  15. 1 2 Kardong, Kenneth V.; Zalisko, Edward J. (2015). Comparative Vertebrate Anatomy: A Laboratory Dissection Guide (Seventh ed.). New York: McGraw-Hill Education. pp. 71–72. ISBN   9780077657055.
  16. ↑ Kardong, Kenneth (1995). Vertebrate: Comparative Anatomy, Function, Evolution. New York: McGraw-HIll. pp. 215–225. ISBN   9780078023026.
  17. 1 2 Xiong, Jianli (2014). "Comparison of vomerine tooth rows in juvenile and adult Hynobius guabangshanensis". Vertebrate Zoology. 64: 215–220.
  18. ↑ https://amphibiaweb.org/species/4226
  19. ↑ "Necturus maculosus (Mudpuppy)".

Further reading

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