| Escambia waterdog | |
|---|---|
 | |
Scientific classification  | |
| Domain: | Eukaryota |
| Kingdom: | Animalia |
| Phylum: | Chordata |
| Class: | Amphibia |
| Order: | Urodela |
| Family: | Proteidae |
| Genus: | Necturus |
| Species: | N. mounti |
| Binomial name | |
| Necturus mounti Guyer et al., 2020 | |
The Escambia waterdog (Necturus mounti) is a species of aquatic salamander in the family Proteidae. It is endemic to the southeastern United States. [1] [2]
It was formerly thought to be a lineage of the Gulf Coast waterdog (N. beyeri), but a 2020 analysis found sufficient morphological and genetic divergence for it to be considered its own species, and it was thus described as its own species, N. mounti (alongside the Apalachicola waterdog, N. moleri). The specific epithet honors American herpetologist Robert H. Mount. [3]
It is found in southern Alabama and the Panhandle of Florida. It is found in the Blackwater, Escambia/Conecuh, Perdido, and Yellow river basins. Juveniles tend to live in leaf packs until they reach adulthood, where it is suspected that the adults migrate to these leaf packs to mate. [3]
In contrast to N. beyeri, and much like N. moleri, it is small in size, weakly spotted, and has an unstriped larva that lacks the numerous white spots of N. beyeri. It has small dark spots around its body, that can be present in some individuals but absent in others. As a juvenile, it is a pinkish-grey color. [3]
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.
The common mudpuppy is a species of salamander in the family Proteidae. It lives an entirely aquatic lifestyle in parts of North America in lakes, rivers, and ponds. It goes through paedomorphosis and retains its external gills. 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. It is usually a rusty brown color and can grow to an average total length of 13 in (330 mm). It is a nocturnal creature, and is active during the day only if the water in which it lives is murky. Its diet consists of almost anything it can get into its mouth, including insects, mollusks, and earthworms. Once a female common mudpuppy reaches sexual maturity at six years of age, she can lay an average of 60 eggs. In the wild, the average lifespan of a common mudpuppy is 11 years.
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.
Axolotl ==Taxonomy==
The western waterdog is a species of aquatic salamander in the family Proteidae. It is endemic to the deep South, where it occurs in Alabama, Louisiana, Mississippi, and Texas.
The pocket shark is a species of kitefin shark in the family Dalatiidae. The species is found in deep water off Chile in the southeastern Pacific Ocean. It was the only member of the genus Mollisquama, until another species, M. mississippiensis, was discovered in the Gulf of Mexico. Both species are distinguished from other sharks by two pockets next to the front fins. The pockets are large, measuring about 4% of the shark's body length. Some researchers hypothesize that the pockets may excrete some kind of glowing fluid or pheromones.
The pennant coralfish, also known as the longfin bannerfish, reef bannerfish or coachman, is a species of fish of the family Chaetodontidae, native to the Indo-Pacific area.
The dwarf waterdog is an aquatic salamander endemic to the Eastern United States. It is the smallest member of the family Proteidae.
The Alabama waterdog is a medium-sized perennibranch salamander inhabiting rivers and streams of Alabama. It is listed as endangered by the IUCN and the United States Fish and Wildlife Service.
The Neuse River waterdog is a medium-sized waterdog of the family Proteidae found in streams and rivers in two watersheds of North Carolina.
The spotted woodcreeper is a species of bird in the subfamily Dendrocolaptinae of the ovenbird family Furnariidae. It is found in Belize, Colombia, Costa Rica, Ecuador, El Salvador, Guatemala, Honduras, Mexico, Nicaragua, and Panama.
The orange-spotted grouper, also known as the brown-spotted rockcod, estuary cod, estuary rockcod, goldspotted rockcod, greasy cod, North-west groper, orange spotted cod or blue-and-yellow grouper, is a species of marine ray-finned fish, a grouper from the subfamily Epinephelinae which is part of the family Serranidae, which also includes the anthias and sea basses. It has an Indo-Pacific distribution and is found in marine and brackish waters.
Fusconaia escambia, the narrow pigtoe, is a freshwater bivalve mussel found in Alabama and northwestern Florida. The narrow pigtoe was first discovered in the Escambia River in Alabama and Florida.
Fessisentis is a genus of parasitic spiny-headed worms. It is the only genus in the family Fessisentidae. This genus contains six species that are distributed across the Eastern continental United States as far west as Oklahoma and Wisconsin. These worms parasitize salamanders and fish.
The Red River mudpuppy, also called Louisiana waterdog or Red River waterdog, is a subspecies of aquatic salamander in the family Proteidae.
The bay whiff is part of the family Paralichthyidae. This family is known as "left-eye flounders". They are one of the most common flatfish of the Gulf of Mexico. They are benthic ambush predators with the ability to camouflage themselves on or just below the surface. They are often solitary animals with few individuals. They vary in color from light to dark in life and are brownish in color after death. They have two dark spots on the caudal peduncle and a light spot under the pectoral fin. The average size of the Bay whiff is 15 cm and the maximum recorded length is 20 cm. The lateral line is straight along the body. It has a large mouth. The opercle on the blind side has no cirri. Their pelvic fins are also asymmetrical.
Parvoscincus beyeri, also known commonly as Beyer's sphenomorphus, is a species of skink, a lizard in the family Scincidae. The species is endemic to the Philippines.
The Apalachicola waterdog is a species of aquatic salamander in the family Proteidae. It is endemic to the south-eastern United States.