Red River mudpuppy | |
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Scientific classification | |
Kingdom: | Animalia |
Phylum: | Chordata |
Class: | Amphibia |
Order: | Caudata |
Family: | Proteidae |
Genus: | Necturus |
Species: | Necturus maculosus |
Subspecies: | N. m. louisianensis |
Trinomial name | |
Necturus maculosus louisianensis Viosca, 1938 |
The Red River mudpuppy (Necturus maculosus louisianensis), also called Louisiana waterdog, is a subspecies of mudpuppy. Some herpetologists consider this salamander to be a full species (Necturus louisianensis).
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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.[1]
It is much different in appearance from the common mudpuppy 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.[2]
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.
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.[3]