Tremblay's salamander

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Tremblay's Salamander
Scientific classification
Kingdom: Animalia
Phylum: Chordata
Class: Lissamphibia
Order: Caudata
Family: Ambystomidae
Genus: Ambystoma
Species: A. tremblayi
Tremblay, ???

Tremblay's Salamander is a member of the Ambystomidae. Reaching between 3¾ and 6⅜" (9.3 and 16 cm), the salamander is long and slender with many bluish-white markings. It is dark gray to gray-black and the area around the vent is black. Tremblay's Salamander is a hybrid species of the Jefferson Salamander (A. jeffersonianum) and Blue-spotted Salamanders (A. laterale). This hybridization created two all female species- the Tremblay's and Silvery Salamanders. These genetic curiosities possess three sets of chromosomes instead of the normal two.

Behaviour

Tremblay's Salamanders breed with male Blue-Spotted Salamanders from March to April. Eggs are laid singly or in small masses of 6-10 eggs on debris at pond bottom. The males chromosome contributed only stimulates the egg's development; its genetic material is ignored. It is not often observed and its diet and lifestyle are unknown.

Habitat & Range

These salamanders live on the bottom of deciduous forests from northern Wisconsin, northern Indiana, northern Ohio, and southern Michigan east through southern Quebec to the New England coastal plain.

See also

  • Silvery Salamander
  • Jefferson Salamander
  • Blue-spotted Salamander

References

  • National Audubon Society Field Guide to Reptiles and Amphibians
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