Necture tacheté— Quebec wildlife

The common mudpuppy (Necturus maculosus) 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 (including tail) 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 (as well as other annelids). 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.

Habitat and range

Common Mudpuppies have the largest distribution of any full aquatic salamander in North America. Necturus maculosus specimens live in streams, lakes, and ponds in the eastern part of North America. 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. However, in muddy waters, the mudpuppy may become active during the day. Mudpuppies can even live under the ice when lakes freeze. There is an introduced population in Maine. Populations are declining due to habitat degradation and chemical pollutants, such as PCBs and lampricides, from agricultural, industrial, and residential practices.

Diet

Mudpuppies use rows of teeth to eat their prey. Salamanders have three different sets of teeth: dentary, premaxillary, and vomerine teeth, which are named due to their location in the mouth. All the teeth, despite their different locations, are very similar. They are small and conical, meaning mudpuppies are homodonts due to their similar shape. The common mudpuppy never leaves its aquatic environment and therefore does not undergo morphogenesis; however, many salamanders do and develop differentiated teeth. Aquatic salamander teeth are used to hinder escape of the prey from the salamander; they do not have a crushing function. 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. At both sides of their mouths, their lips interlock, which allows them to use suction feeding. They are carnivorous creatures and will eat almost anything they can get into their mouths. Typically, they prey upon such animals as insects and their larvae, mollusks, annelids, crayfish, small fish, amphibians, earthworms, and spiders.

Reproduction

Mudpuppies take six years to reach sexual maturity.Mating typically takes place in autumn