Biology:Gulf Coast waterdog
| Gulf Coast waterdog | |
|---|---|
| |
Scientific classification 
| |
| Domain: | Eukaryota |
| Kingdom: | Animalia |
| Phylum: | Chordata |
| Class: | Amphibia |
| Order: | Urodela |
| Family: | Proteidae |
| Genus: | Necturus |
| Species: | N. beyeri
|
| Binomial name | |
| Necturus beyeri Viosca, 1937
| |
The Gulf Coast waterdog (Necturus beyeri) is a species of aquatic salamander in the family Proteidae. It is native to the southeastern United States, where it occurs in Alabama, Florida, Georgia, Louisiana, Mississippi, and Texas .[1] This may be a species complex that could be split into different taxa as research indicates.[2] It is closely related to Necturus alabamensis.[1]
Description
Adults are 6 to 8.5 inches (15 to 22 cm) in length. It is brown with light brown and black speckles. It exhibits neoteny, retaining its gills and larva-like tail into adulthood.[3]
Ecology
This species lives in streams with sandy bottoms. It remains on the substrate or burrows into it, sometimes hiding in debris.[1]
Individuals of both sexes move more during the colder months of the year and seem to use one site as a home area from which they occasionally exhibit long distance movements.[4]
The female attaches its eggs to aquatic debris.[5]
References
- ↑ 1.0 1.1 1.2 IUCN SSC Amphibian Specialist Group. 2014. Necturus beyeri. The IUCN Red List of Threatened Species 2014. Downloaded on 25 June 2016.
- ↑ NatureServe. 2015. Necturus beyeri. NatureServe Explorer Version 7.1. Accessed 25 June 2016.
- ↑ Gulf Coast Waterdog. Jacksonville Zoo.
- ↑ Brenes, Roberto, and Neil B. Ford. “Seasonality and Movements of the Gulf Coast Waterdog (Necturus Beyeri) in Eastern Texas.” The Southwestern Naturalist, vol. 51, no. 2, 2006, pp. 152–156. JSTOR
- ↑ Necturus beyeri. AmphibiaWeb. 2016.
Wikidata ☰ Q2162674 entry
 |
