Gulf Coast waterdog


The Gulf Coast waterdog is a species of aquatic salamander in the family Proteidae. It is native to the southeastern United States, where it occurs in Alabama, Florida, Georgia, Louisiana, Mississippi, and Texas. This may be a species complex that could be split into different taxa as research indicates. It is closely related to Necturus alabamensis.

Description

Adults are in length. It is brown with light brown and black speckles. It exhibits neoteny, retaining its gills and larva-like tail into adulthood.

Ecology

This species lives in streams with sandy bottoms. It remains on the substrate or burrows into it, sometimes hiding in debris.
Individuals of both sexes move more during the colder months of the year and seem to use one site as a home area from which they occasionally exhibit long distance movements.
The female attaches its eggs to aquatic debris.