One of the world's largest land-dwelling salamanders at up to 14 inches. Bright yellow-and-black striped, they're an icon of western prairie wetlands and plains pothole country.
§ Quick facts
§ Encyclopedia
The barred tiger salamander or western tiger salamander is a species of mole salamander that lives in lower western Canada, the western United States and northern Mexico.
Source: Wikipedia — Barred tiger salamander Licensed under CC BY-SA 4.0
§ Identification
Field marks. Massive tiger salamander with variable broad yellow bars on dark background. Western subspecies.
Similar species. Eastern Tiger Salamander (more uniform spots). Spotted Salamander (smaller, fewer bars).
Voice. Silent.
§ Diet & behavior
Diet. Carnivorous: insects, worms, small invertebrates.
Behavior. Underground burrower; emerges to breed in vernal pools. Population varies dramatically with rainfall.
§ Range
Western North America from southern Canada to central Mexico
§ Habitat
Open grassland and desert with scattered ponds; high meadow lakes
§ Threats
Hybridization from bait-released tiger salamanders, fish stocking in formerly fishless lakes, drought.
§ Conservation status
According to the IUCN Red List, the barred tiger salamander is currently classified as Least Concern.
§ What helps
Don't buy or release "waterdog" bait. Support pond conservation. Don't introduce fish to native amphibian breeding pools.
§ Further reading
- Wikipedia — Barred tiger salamander
- www.nwf.org — authoritative profile of Ambystoma mavortium
- IUCN Red List · taxon 59063
- iNaturalist · taxon 27543
- GBIF occurrence records
- Encyclopedia of Life — Ambystoma mavortium
§ Sources cited
- USGS ARMI
- AmphibiaWeb
- iNaturalist
- IUCN Red List 2014
