Amphibians are ectothermic, tetrapod vertebrates of the class Amphibia. All living amphibians belong to the group Lissamphibia. They inhabit a wide variety of habitats, with most species living within terrestrial, fossorial, arboreal or freshwater aquatic ecosystems. Thus amphibians typically start out as larvae living in water, but some species have developed behavioural adaptations to bypass this.
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. Salamander diversity is highest in the Northern Hemisphere and most species are found in the Holarctic realm, with some species present in the Neotropical realm.
The axolotl, Ambystoma mexicanum, is a paedomorphic salamander related to the tiger salamander. The species was originally found in several lakes, such as Lake Xochimilco underlying Mexico City. Axolotls are unusual among amphibians in that they reach adulthood without undergoing metamorphosis. Instead of taking to the land, adults remain aquatic and gilled.
The tiger salamander is a species of mole salamander and one of the largest terrestrial salamanders in North America.
The California tiger salamander is a vulnerable amphibian native to California. It is a mole salamander. Previously considered to be a subspecies of the tiger salamander, the California tiger salamander was recently designated a separate species again. The California tiger salamander distinct population segment (DPS) in Sonoma County and the Santa Barbara County DPS are listed as federally endangered, while the Central California DPS is listed as federally threatened. The Sonoma County, south San Joaquin, and the Santa Barbara County DPS have diverged from the rest of the California tiger salamander populations for over one million years, since the Pleistocene and they may warrant status as separate species.
The Jefferson salamander is a mole salamander native to the northeastern United States, southern and central Ontario, and southwestern Quebec. It was named after Jefferson College in Pennsylvania.
The frosted flatwoods salamander is a small, elongated species of mole salamander. It has a small, indistinct head, short legs, and a long, rounded tail. Typical coloration consists of a background of brownish- to purplish-black overlaid with narrow gray or silvery-white reticulations, bands, or diffuse spotting. The gilled aquatic larvae are distinctly colored, having a series of bold brown and yellow longitudinal stripes.
The northwestern salamander is a species of mole salamander that inhabits the northwest Pacific coast of North America. These fairly large salamanders grow to 8.7 in (220 mm) in length. It is found from southeastern Alaska on May Island, through Washington and Oregon south to the mouth of the Gualala River, Sonoma County, California. It occurs from sea level to the timberline, but not east of the Cascade Divide. Its range includes Vancouver Island in British Columbia and The San Juan Islands, Cypress, Whidbey, Bainbridge, and Vashon Islands in Washington.
The long-toed salamander is a mole salamander in the family Ambystomatidae. This species, typically 4.1–8.9 cm (1.6–3.5 in) long when mature, is characterized by its mottled black, brown, and yellow pigmentation, and its long outer fourth toe on the hind limbs. Analysis of fossil records, genetics, and biogeography suggest A. macrodactylum and A. laterale are descended from a common ancestor that gained access to the western Cordillera with the loss of the mid-continental seaway toward the Paleocene.
Taylor's salamander, Ambystoma taylori, is a species of salamander found only in Laguna Alchichica, a high-altitude crater lake to the southwest of Perote, Puebla, Mexico. It was first described in 1982 but had been known to science prior to that. It is a neotenic salamander, breeding while still in the larval state and not undergoing metamorphosis. The lake in which it lives is becoming increasingly saline and less suitable for the salamander, which is declining in numbers. The International Union for Conservation of Nature (IUCN) has rated it as being "critically endangered".
Anderson's salamander is a neotenic salamander from Zacapu Lagoon in the Mexican state of Michoacán.
The Lake Patzcuaro salamander, locally known as achoque, Ambystoma dumerilii, is a neotenic salamander species.
The delicate-skinned salamander is an extremely rare species of mole salamander.
The Puerto Hondo stream salamander or Michoacan stream salamander, Ambystoma ordinarium, is a mole salamander from the Cordillera Volcánica within the Mexican state of Michoacán.
The small-mouth salamander is a species of mole salamander found in the central United States, from the Great Lakes region in Michigan to Nebraska, south to Texas, and east to Tennessee, with a population in Canada, in Pelee, Ontario. It is sometimes referred to as the Texas salamander, porphyry salamander, or the narrow-mouthed salamander. The Kelley's Island salamander was synonymized with A. texanum in 1995.
The barred tiger salamander or western tiger salamander is a species of mole salamander found from southwestern Canada in British Columbia, Alberta, Saskatchewan, and Manitoba, south through the western United States to Texas and northern Mexico.
The Leora's stream salamander or ajolote is a rare species of mole salamander in the family Ambystomatidae. It is endemic to a very small area of land in the Iztaccihuatl-Popocatepetl National Park on the border of the State of Mexico with Puebla, with a single known population on Mount Tlaloc. Its very specific requirements as regards water quality militates against its survival in a habitat where water is being extracted, cattle graze and the salamander has traditionally been eaten as food. It has been listed as a threatened species by the Mexican Government and as "critically endangered" by the International Union for Conservation of Nature.
Ambystoma rivulare is a species of mole salamander in the family Ambystomatidae. Typically gains a lot of population distribution in the Trans-Mexican Volcanic Belt around central Mexico City. Found in various small or medium sized ponds and lakes that have large and wide range of food options, all within a distance of at least 2 km. It is endemic to Mexico. Its natural habitats are subtropical or tropical moist montane forests and rivers. It is threatened by habitat loss. The larvae, who continue to prey on the same organisms as they grow, prey mainly on ostracods as well as some gastropods and assorted other prey with limited diversity. Ambystoma rivulare continue to live in the river they hatch in post-metamorphosis.
The Tarahumara salamander is a freshwater species of mole salamander in the family Ambystomatidae, endemic to Mexico. Its natural habitats are temperate forest, subtropical or tropical moist montane forest, subtropical or tropical high-altitude grassland, rivers, freshwater marshes, pastureland, and ponds.
The plateau tiger salamander or Mexican tiger salamander is a species of mole salamander in the family Ambystomatidae. It is typically considered endemic to Mexico, although its range might extend to the United States. Its natural habitat is grassland, including sparse forest and semiarid grassland. Breeding takes place in a range of aquatic habitats: deep volcanic lakes, shallow vernal pools, artificial cattle ponds, and intermittent, fish-free stream pools. It exhibits facultative paedomorphosis.
