Yellow-Peppered Salamander

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Yellow-Peppered Salamander
Conservation status
Scientific classification
Kingdom: Animalia
Phylum: Chordata
Class: Lissamphibia
Order: Caudata
Family: Ambystomatidae
Genus: Ambystoma
Species: A. flavipiperatum
Binomial name
Ambystoma flavipiperatum
(Dixon, 1963)

The Yellow-Peppered Salamander, Ambystoma flavipiperatum, also known as Salamandra de Champala and the Yellow-Headed Salamander, is a species of Mole Salamander native to the areas around Santa Cruz, Rancho Malveste, and Tapalpa, Jalisco, Mexico, at an elevation of 4900 ft.

It is a large yellow salamander with large dark spots running down its dorsal surface - thus the "Yellow-peppered" designation. This is also the meaning of its species name in Latin. It has almond eyes and a wide body. It was described as most similar to the Blunt-Headed Salamander, Ambystoma amblycephalum.

Larvae have the same coloration as adults, and can be quite large before undergoing metamorphosis. They have long, thick external gills, almond eyes, and tall caudal fins. Neoteny may occur in some individuals, but neotenic populations are not known.

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