Ambystoma mavortium
Encyclopedia
Ambystoma mavortium, commonly known as the Barred Tiger Salamander, is a species
of salamander
found from southwestern Canada
in British Columbia
, Alberta
, Saskatchewan
and Manitoba
, south through the western United States
to Texas
and northern Mexico
.
, Barred Tiger Salamanders are opportunistic feeders, and will often eat anything they can catch, including various insect
s, slug
s, and earthworm
s. They are primarily terrestrial
as adults, but their juvenile larva
l stage is entirely aquatic, having external gill
s.
of A. mavortium:
, marketed as mud puppies or water dogs.
. The second grade class of 1993 of OK Elementary in Wichita, KS petitioned the governor and the initial idea for a state amphibian was presented to their teacher by Timothy Boyd and Kristofer Voorhees.
Species
In biology, a species is one of the basic units of biological classification and a taxonomic rank. A species is often defined as a group of organisms capable of interbreeding and producing fertile offspring. While in many cases this definition is adequate, more precise or differing measures are...
of salamander
Salamander
Salamander is a common name of approximately 500 species of amphibians. They are typically characterized by a superficially lizard-like appearance, with their slender bodies, short noses, and long tails. All known fossils and extinct species fall under the order Caudata, while sometimes the extant...
found from southwestern Canada
Canada
Canada is a North American country consisting of ten provinces and three territories. Located in the northern part of the continent, it extends from the Atlantic Ocean in the east to the Pacific Ocean in the west, and northward into the Arctic Ocean...
in British Columbia
British Columbia
British Columbia is the westernmost of Canada's provinces and is known for its natural beauty, as reflected in its Latin motto, Splendor sine occasu . Its name was chosen by Queen Victoria in 1858...
, Alberta
Alberta
Alberta is a province of Canada. It had an estimated population of 3.7 million in 2010 making it the most populous of Canada's three prairie provinces...
, Saskatchewan
Saskatchewan
Saskatchewan is a prairie province in Canada, which has an area of . Saskatchewan is bordered on the west by Alberta, on the north by the Northwest Territories, on the east by Manitoba, and on the south by the U.S. states of Montana and North Dakota....
and Manitoba
Manitoba
Manitoba is a Canadian prairie province with an area of . The province has over 110,000 lakes and has a largely continental climate because of its flat topography. Agriculture, mostly concentrated in the fertile southern and western parts of the province, is vital to the province's economy; other...
, south through the western United States
Western United States
.The Western United States, commonly referred to as the American West or simply "the West," traditionally refers to the region comprising the westernmost states of the United States. Because the U.S. expanded westward after its founding, the meaning of the West has evolved over time...
to Texas
Texas
Texas is the second largest U.S. state by both area and population, and the largest state by area in the contiguous United States.The name, based on the Caddo word "Tejas" meaning "friends" or "allies", was applied by the Spanish to the Caddo themselves and to the region of their settlement in...
and northern Mexico
Mexico
The United Mexican States , commonly known as Mexico , is a federal constitutional republic in North America. It is bordered on the north by the United States; on the south and west by the Pacific Ocean; on the southeast by Guatemala, Belize, and the Caribbean Sea; and on the east by the Gulf of...
.
Description
The tiger salamander is the largest land-dwelling salamander in the world. The barred tiger salamander typically grows from 6 - 8 1/2 inches. Overall, the body is dark brown to black with yellow bars and spots giving it the "tiger-stripe" look.Behavior
Primarily nocturnalNocturnal animal
Nocturnality is an animal behavior characterized by activity during the night and sleeping during the day. The common adjective is "nocturnal"....
, Barred Tiger Salamanders are opportunistic feeders, and will often eat anything they can catch, including various insect
Insect
Insects are a class of living creatures within the arthropods that have a chitinous exoskeleton, a three-part body , three pairs of jointed legs, compound eyes, and two antennae...
s, slug
Slug
Slug is a common name that is normally applied to any gastropod mollusc that lacks a shell, has a very reduced shell, or has a small internal shell...
s, and earthworm
Earthworm
Earthworm is the common name for the largest members of Oligochaeta in the phylum Annelida. In classical systems they were placed in the order Opisthopora, on the basis of the male pores opening posterior to the female pores, even though the internal male segments are anterior to the female...
s. They are primarily terrestrial
Terrestrial animal
Terrestrial animals are animals that live predominantly or entirely on land , as compared with aquatic animals, which live predominantly or entirely in the water , or amphibians, which rely on a combination of aquatic and terrestrial habitats...
as adults, but their juvenile larva
Larva
A larva is a distinct juvenile form many animals undergo before metamorphosis into adults. Animals with indirect development such as insects, amphibians, or cnidarians typically have a larval phase of their life cycle...
l stage is entirely aquatic, having external gill
Gill
A gill is a respiratory organ found in many aquatic organisms that extracts dissolved oxygen from water, afterward excreting carbon dioxide. The gills of some species such as hermit crabs have adapted to allow respiration on land provided they are kept moist...
s.
Subspecies
There are five recognized subspeciesSubspecies
Subspecies in biological classification, is either a taxonomic rank subordinate to species, ora taxonomic unit in that rank . A subspecies cannot be recognized in isolation: a species will either be recognized as having no subspecies at all or two or more, never just one...
of A. mavortium:
- Gray Tiger Salamander, Ambystoma mavortium diaboli (Dunn, 1940)
- Barred Tiger Salamander, Ambystoma mavortium mavortium (BairdSpencer Fullerton BairdSpencer Fullerton Baird was an American ornithologist, ichthyologist and herpetologist. Starting in 1850 he was assistant-secretary and later secretary of the Smithsonian Institution in Washington, D.C...
, 1850) - Blotched Tiger Salamander, Ambystoma mavortium melanostictum (BairdSpencer Fullerton BairdSpencer Fullerton Baird was an American ornithologist, ichthyologist and herpetologist. Starting in 1850 he was assistant-secretary and later secretary of the Smithsonian Institution in Washington, D.C...
, 1860) - Arizona Tiger Salamander, Ambystoma mavortium nebulosum (HallowellEdward HallowellEdward Hallowell was an American herpetologist and physician.He studied and practiced medicine in Philadelphia. He also was a renowned herpetologist who described 55 new species of reptiles....
, 1853) - Sonoran Tiger Salamander, Ambystoma mavortium stebbinsi (Lowe, 1954)
In captivity
Tiger Salamanders are frequently kept in captivity. Adult Barred Tiger Salamanders are illegal to sell in most of the USA. Their large size allows for ease of feeding, and their hardy nature make them excellent captives. Their larval stage is often sold as fishing baitFishing bait
Fishing bait is any substance used to attract and catch fish, e.g. on the end of a fishing hook, or inside a fish trap. Traditionally, nightcrawlers, insects, and smaller bait fish have been used for this purpose...
, marketed as mud puppies or water dogs.
Symbolism
The Barred Tiger Salamander is the State Amphibian of KansasKansas
Kansas is a US state located in the Midwestern United States. It is named after the Kansas River which flows through it, which in turn was named after the Kansa Native American tribe, which inhabited the area. The tribe's name is often said to mean "people of the wind" or "people of the south...
. The second grade class of 1993 of OK Elementary in Wichita, KS petitioned the governor and the initial idea for a state amphibian was presented to their teacher by Timothy Boyd and Kristofer Voorhees.