Species: Ambystoma tigrinum

Tiger Salamander

Species

Encyclopedia of Puget Sound

Coloration geographically variable to an extreme, often mottled, blotched, or spotted; adults are stocky, with 11-14 (usually 12-13) costal grooves, a broad head, small eyes, and tubercles on the soles of the feet; pond-type larva (but lacks balancers), with three large pairs of gills, vomerine teeth in U-shaped pattern, and dorsal fin extending to region of axilla; adults usually are about 15-22 cm in total length (to about 34 cm) (Stebbins 1951, 1985; Behler and King 1979; Conant and Collins 1991).

Classification

Kingdom

Animalia

Phylum

Craniata

Class

Amphibia

Order

Caudata

Family

Ambystomatidae

Genus

Ambystoma

NatureServe

Source:
ELEMENT_GLOBAL.2.101447

Classification

Informal Taxonomy

Animals, Vertebrates - Amphibians - Salamanders

Formal Taxonomy

Animalia - Craniata - Amphibia - Caudata - Ambystomatidae - Ambystoma - in Michigan. See Lowcock et al. (1987) for a discussion of the nomenclature treatment of hybrids.

Ecology and Life History

Short General Description

A salamander.

Migration

false - true - false - May migrate up to at least a few hundred meters between breeding and nonbreeding habitats. In New York, all movements occurred in areas within 300 m of the nearest breeding pond (Madison and Farrand 1998). Migrations often coincide with rainfall. Migrations in New York were facultative; some did not emigrate from ponds during the year of breeding (Madison and Farrand 1998).

Non-migrant

false

Locally Migrant

true

Food Comments

Adults eat any small animal that can be captured and swallowed. Larvae eat aquatic invertebrates and vertebrates (especially amphibian larvae) as available.

Reproduction Comments

In general, breeding occurs in spring in the north and at high elevations, in winter in the southern U.S., in late winter/spring and/or summer in the Southwest, and in late winter-early spring in the mid-Atlantic states. Typically the female oviposits within two days after picking up a spermatophore. Individual female deposit up to 1,000 eggs. Eggs hatch in about 2-5 weeks, depending on the temperature. Larvae metamorphose in their first or second summer, or they may not metamorphose at all (become sexually mature as gilled larvae). Reproductive success may be highly dependent on seasonal patterns of rainfall and temperature (Mitchell 1991). In South Carolina, reproductive success varied greatly in different years; little or no recruitment occurred during drought periods (Pechmann et al. 1991). Breeding aggregations may include a few or up to several hundred adults.

Ecology Comments

In New York, frequent predation occurred in small mammal runways, probably by short-tailed shrews (Madison and Farrand 1998).

Length

Conservation Status

NatureServe Global Status Rank

Global Status Last Reviewed

2003-10-15

Global Status Last Changed

2001-10-02

Distribution

Conservation Status Map

Global Range

H - 2,500,000 square km (greater than 1,000,000 square miles) - H - See Church et al. (2003) for a map of the county distribution of the eastern tiger salamander.

Global Range Code

Global Range Description

2,500,000 square km (greater than 1,000,000 square miles)

ELEMENT_GLOBAL.2.101447