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Order: ANURA
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Information about salamanders.
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salamandroidea, cryptobranchoidea, amphibian database, amphibian species, salamander, salamanders, newts, newt, caudata, caudate, anura, anuran, fire belly newt, fire belly toad, biodiversity, conservation, amphibian, amphibians, ambystomatidae, ambystoma, amphiumidae, amphiuma, cryptobranchidae, dicamptodontidae, hynobiidae, proteidae, plethodontidae, rhyacotritonidae, salamandridae, sirenidae, siren, cynops, pachytriton, paramesotriton, tylototriton
Amphiumidae (Gray, 1825) Amphiuma/Congo Snakes
Amphiuma tridactylum - photo courtesy of Suzanne L. Collins, http://www.cnah.org

Amphiuma are large, aquatic, caudates that may appear more like large eels than amphibians. Amphiuma inhabit swamps, marshes, drainage ditches, and streams in southeastern areas of the United States. Although mostly aquatic, adult Amphiuma do not possess gills, but respire through the use of lungs. The front and hind limbs are extremely reduced. All three species differ by the number of digits on each limb, one, two, and three. 

Amphiuma are capable of enclosing their bodies in a water-proof mucus, which will retain enough moisture to survive the driest seasons. During the rainy seasons, amphiuma may leave the water and travel distances across land, wriggling like snakes instead of walking like typical salamanders...more about Amphiumidae.



 
     
   
Genus Ambystoma (Tschudi, 1838)
  Amphiuma means Two-Toed Amphiuma
  Amphiuma pholeter One-Toed Amphiuma
  Amphiuma tridactylum Three-Toed Amphiuma
    
  

Amphibian Taxonomy References

AmphibiaWeb (2003). http://amphibiaweb.org/. (Accessed: 2001-2003).

Beltz, Ellin (2003). North American Reptile and Amphibian Names. Ellin Beltz. http://ebeltz.net/herps/etyhome.html (Accessed: 2001).

Center for North American Herpetology (2003). http://www.cnah.org/ (Accessed: 2000).

Collins, Joseph T. Standard Common and Scientific Names for North American Amphibians & Reptiles (3rd ed.). Society for the Study of Amphibians & Reptiles (SSAR), 1990.

Duellman, W.E. and L. Trueb. Biology of Amphibians. McGraw Hill, New York, 1986.

Fowler, Henry W. Annual Report of the New Jersey State Museum, 1906 - With A Report of the Amphibians and Reptiles of New Jersey and a Supplement to the Fishes of New Jersey. Trenton, New Jersey State Museum, 1906.

Frank, Norman, and E. Ramus. Complete Guide to Scientific and Common Names of Reptiles & Amphibians of the World. N.G. Publishing, 1996.

Frost, Darrel. R. Amphibian Species of the World. Allen Press and the Association of Systematics Collections. Lawrence, KS, 1985.

Frost, Darrel R. (2004). Amphibian Species of the World 3.0. American Museum of Natural History. http://research.amnh.org/herpetology/amphibia/index.php (Accessed: 2004).

Halliday, Tim R., and Kraig Adler (editors). The New Encyclopedia of Reptiles & Amphibians. Facts on File, New York, 2002.

Jordan, David S. A Manual of Vertebrates of the Northern United States Including the District East of the Mississippi River and North of North Carolina and Tennessee, Exclusive to Marine Species. Chicago, 1878.

Larson, Allan. 1991. A molecular perspective on the evolutionary relationships of the salamander families. Evolutionary Biology 25: 211-277.

Larson, Allan (2004). Terrestrial Vertebrates. Tree of Life Web Project. http://www.tolweb.org/tree?group=terrestrial_vertebrates. (Accessed: 2004).

Schleich, Hermann H., and Werner Kastle (editors). Amphibians and Reptiles of Nepal. Koeltz, Koningstein, 2002.

Stebbins, Robert. Western Reptiles & Amphibians (3rd ed.). Houghton Mifflin Co., 2003.

Titus, T.A. and A. Larson. 1995. A molecular phylogenetic perspective on the evolutionary radiation of the salamander family Salamandridae. Systematic Biology 44: 125-151.

 

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