The Red River mudpuppy (Necturus maculosus louisianensis), also called Louisiana waterdog, is a subspecies of mudpuppy

Mudpuppy

Mudpuppies or waterdogs are aquatic salamanders of the family Proteidae. Their name originates from the misconception that they make a dog-like barking sound. The range of the genus Necturus runs from southern central Canada, through the midwestern United States, east to North Carolina and south to...

. Some herpetologists consider this salamander to be a full species (Necturus louisianensis).

Geographic range

It is found in southeastern Kansas, southern Missouri, northeastern Oklahoma, Arkansas, and northcentral Louisiana. It lives only in the Red River and adjacent drainage systems.

Description

It is much different in appearance from the common mudpuppy

Common Mudpuppy

The Mudpuppy is a species of salamander that is part of the genus, Necturus. They live an entirely aquatic lifestyle in the eastern part of North America in lakes, rivers, and ponds. Mudpuppies go through paedomorphosis and retain their external gills...

which is gray to brown, with round blue-black spots. The Red River mudpuppy is light yellowish brown with a white stripe on either side of the middorsal area.

Diet and behavior

It eats mainly small underwater animals. Its feathery gills mean that it can only breathe underwater not on land. It and many other mudpuppies can still go on land, but not for a very long time. They only go on land if the water is too dirty so they can find cleaner water in another part of the river.

History

The Red River Mudpuppy was proposed as a separate species from the common mudpuppy by Collins in 1991 and 1997, but supporting data was lacking. Petranka (1998) and Crother (2000) both treated this animal as a subspecies.