Ambystoma talpoideum

Taxobox
name = Mole Salamander

---

image_width = 240px
regnum = Animalia
phylum = Chordata
classis = Amphibia
ordo = Caudata
familia = Ambystomatidae
genus = "Ambystoma"
species = "A. talpoideum"
binomial = "Ambystoma talpoideum"
binomial_authority = Holbrook, 1838
synonyms = "Salamandra talpoidea"
Holbrook, 1838

The Mole Salamander ("Ambystoma talpoideum") is a species of salamander found in much of the eastern and central United States, from Florida to Texas, north to Illinois, east to Kentucky, with an isolated population in Virginia. Older sources often refer to it as the Tadpole Salamander.

Description

The Mole Salamander is a stocky salamander with a short body and a large head. They can grow to 4 inches in length. They are normally gray or dark brown in color, with darker mottling and a lighter gray underside.

Behavior

Primarily nocturnal, the Mole Salamander prefers habitats of moist forest debris, usually near a permanent source of water. Breeding occurs in the winter months, with eggs being laid in the spring, during heavy rains. It is an opportunistic feeder, eating almost anything smaller than itself which it can overpower, including various arthropods.

References

* [http://research.amnh.org/herpetology/amphibia/references.php?id=21078 Amphibian Species of the World: "Ambystoma talpoideum"]
* [http://museum.nhm.uga.edu/gawildlife/amphibians/caudata/ambystomatidae/atalpoideum.html University of Georgia: Mole Salamander]
* [http://www.inhs.uiuc.edu/cbd/herpdist/species/am_talpoid.html Illinois Natural History Survey: "Ambystoma talpoideum"]