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| This animal gets its name because people once thought it could bark like a dog. It only makes a squeak or grunt if it is picked up. The Mudpuppy is the only salamander that never leaves the water. Adults grow to over 30 cm and are brown or gray with dark spots. Their bellies are light gray. They have four toes on the front and back feet, and long, feathery red gills on the sides of the head which they keep all their life. The tail is laterally compressed with fins above and below that give the tail a paddle-like look. This salamander is extremely slimy and it is nearly impossible to hold on to a specimen with bare hands. Found in rivers, ponds and lakes of the Algonquin Highlands, they hide under rocks, logs, boards, and other debris. Mudpuppies are active year round, but are more active at night. They breed in fall and early winter. The female lays up to 100 eggs in late spring and summer, and they take about 30 to 50 days to hatch. She digs a cavity under an object such as a rock or log and turns upside down to attach her eggs to the roof of her nest. Mudpuppies will eat crustaceans, insects, worms, fish, fish eggs, salamanders, and crayfish. Mudpuppies probably do not have keen eyesight and rely heavily upon olfactory cues to find their prey. They are, however, the prey for large fish, some wading birds or diving ducks, and even Snapping Turtles. |
(Family Proteidae)
Necturus maculosus
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