Common mudpuppy: Where It Lives, Map & Facts

Where the common mudpuppy lives – recorded in 2 countries, with quick facts from Wikidata and an introduction from Wikipedia.

Scientific name	Necturus maculosus
Group	Salamanders, newts & caecilians
Status	Least concern (Wikidata, IUCN category label)
Found in	2 countries
Continents	North America
Class	Amphibian
Order	Caudata
Family	Proteidae

Where does the common mudpuppy live?

Open-licence (CC0 / CC BY) wild records published on GBIF place the common mudpuppy in 2 countries and territories across North America.

Countries with at least a handful of records (a minimum share of the species’ records, to leave out vagrants and escapes). Records with coordinates only; captive and fossil records excluded.

Is the common mudpuppy endangered?

The common mudpuppy’s conservation status recorded in Wikidata is “Least concern” (an IUCN Red List category label). Source: Wikidata.

What kind of animal is the common mudpuppy?

The common mudpuppy (Necturus maculosus) is an amphibian in the order Caudata and the family Proteidae, genus Necturus. (Taxonomy from Wikidata.)

About the common mudpuppy

The common mudpuppy (Necturus maculosus) is a species of salamander in the family Proteidae. It lives an entirely aquatic lifestyle in parts of North America in lakes, rivers, and ponds. It goes through paedomorphosis and retains its external gills. Because skin and lung respiration alone is not sufficient for gas exchange, the common mudpuppy must rely on external gills as its primary means of gas exchange. It is usually a rusty brown color and can grow to an average total length (including tail) of 13 in (330 mm). It is a nocturnal creature, and is active during the day only if the water in which it lives is murky. Its diet consists of almost anything it can get into its mouth, including insects, mollusks, and earthworms (as well as other annelids). Once a female common mudpuppy reaches sexual maturity at six years of age, she can lay an average of 60 eggs. In the wild, the average lifespan of a common mudpuppy is 11 years.

Text in “About” is quoted from the Wikipedia article Common mudpuppy (revision 1375456669), licensed under CC BY-SA 4.0. Changes: lead section excerpted verbatim, formatting removed. Quick facts, taxonomy and status: Wikidata Q604445 (CC0). Countries and pin: GBIF.org occurrence records (CC0 / CC BY 4.0).