Common Mudpuppy (Necturus maculosus)

Common Name: Common Mudpuppy
Scientific Name: Necturus maculosus
Family: Proteidae – Mudpuppy and Waterdog family
Location: Canada and the United States
US Location: Alabama, Arkansas, Connecticut, Georgia, Iowa, Illinois, Indiana, Kansas, Kentucky, Louisiana, Massachusetts, Maryland, Maine, Michigan, Minnesota, Missouri, Mississippi, North Carolina, North Dakota, New Hampshire, New York, Ohio, Oklahoma, Pennsylvania, South Carolina, South Dakota, Tennessee, Virginia, Wisconsin, and West Virginia
Size: 7.8 – 19.2 inches (20 – 49 cm)

The Common Mudpuppy is the largest mudpuppy species and also the most widespread mudpuppy species. This aquatic salamander lives permanent bodies of water throughout the eastern United States and Canada. The Common Mudpuppy lives up to around 30 years old and they start breeding around 6 to 7 years old.

Mating is believed to happen during fall but the females don’t lay the eggs right away. Females store the sperm inside them throughout winter until the temperature starts to increase.

Speaking of winter, the season is the best time to find the Mudpuppy. While most salamanders go inactive due to the cold, the Mudpuppy can be found swimming around at the bottom of lakes underneath the ice.

The Common Mudpuppy is nocturnal and hunts during the night while they hide in their burrows during the day. They have teeth that are used to hold prey in their mouth as they usually just suck in the prey into their mouth.

The International Union for the Conservation of Nature (IUCN) Red List categorizes the Common Mudpuppy as Least Concern for Extinction. They have a wide range and a large population. Only threat to the mudpuppy is the pollution and sedimentation of the waters they live in.