Escambia waterdog

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]

Escambia waterdog
Scientific classification Edit this 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

Taxonomy

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]

Distribution and habitat

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]

Description

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]

References
  1. "Necturus mounti Guyer, Murray, Bart, Crother, Chabarria, Bailey, and Dunn, 2020 | Amphibian Species of the World". amphibiansoftheworld.amnh.org. Retrieved 2021-12-16.
  2. "AmphibiaWeb - Necturus mounti". amphibiaweb.org. Retrieved 2021-12-16.
  3. Guyer, Craig; Murray, Christopher; Bart, Henry L.; Crother, Brian I.; Chabarria, Ryan E.; Bailey, Mark A.; Dunn, Khorizon (2020-01-17). "Colour and size reveal hidden diversity of Necturus (Caudata: Proteidae) from the Gulf Coastal Plain of the United States". Journal of Natural History. 54 (1–4): 15–41. doi:10.1080/00222933.2020.1736677. ISSN 0022-2933. S2CID 216256350.
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