Two-toed amphiuma
This article includes a list of general references, but it lacks sufficient corresponding inline citations. (February 2016) |
Two-toed amphiuma Temporal range: [1]
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Scientific classification | |
Domain: | Eukaryota |
Kingdom: | Animalia |
Phylum: | Chordata |
Class: | Amphibia |
Order: | Urodela |
Family: | Amphiumidae |
Genus: | Amphiuma |
Species: | A. means
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Binomial name | |
Amphiuma means Garden in Smith, 1821
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The two-toed amphiuma (Amphiuma means) is an aquatic salamander widely distributed in the
Description
Two-toed amphiumas are the most prominent in the Amphiumidae family and the longest salamander species in the United States,
Distribution and habitat
Amphiumas live in areas of shallow, heavily vegetated water in swamps,
Behavior
Two-toed amphiumas are nocturnal, and are often difficult to handle because of their slippery skins. They may leave water temporarily if weather is wet enough. They dig burrows in muddy stream bottoms, or may invade the burrows of other aquatic creatures. They are primarily found in the littoral zones where fish and crayfish are most abundant and vegetation is floating, on logs, or submerged.[12]
They are harmless to humans when left alone, but, when disturbed, they can deliver a tough bite, which may lead to a severe infection. A. means gives a clear whistle when disturbed.[citation needed] It has been studied that two-toed amphiumas utilize acoustic signals during social interactions for communications at short distances, as the species did not express these acoustics when housed individually.[13] These acoustic signals can be described as "clicks". There are three discernable clicks produced, ranging in frequencies.[5]
Breeding
Amphiumas breed from June to July in North Carolina and northern Florida. Females lay about 200 eggs in a damp cavity beneath debris, close to standing water, and they remain coiled around them during incubation (which lasts around five months). These eggs are laid in strings.[14] Hatchlings are about 2 in (51 mm) long with three pairs of light-colored external gills soon lost after hatching.[9] In some conditions offspring can exhibit direct development and hatch without external gills.[14] In a series of three studies conducted in northern Florida, two-toed amphiuma eggs hatched in response to inundation with water, can stand without feeding for 125 days by using resources from their yolk reserves, and the eggs can retain a period of no growth and still survive after 110 days on a moist substrate.[15]
A study depicted seasonal lipid storage increases in males' testicular region and females' liver.[7]
Diet
Two-toed amphiumas feed on small
References
- ^ Fossilworks
- . Retrieved 20 November 2021.
- ^ https://explorer.natureserve.org/Taxon/ELEMENT_GLOBAL.2.104318/Amphiuma_means
- ^ a b c d Salthe, Stanley N (1973). Anderson, James D. (ed.). "Amphiuma means Garden – Two-toed congo eel" (PDF). Catalogue of American Amphibians and Reptiles. Society for the Amphibians and Reptiles: 148.
- ^ PMID 6815749.
- ^ a b Caudata Culture Species Entry – Amphiuma. Caudata.org. Retrieved on 2013-01-03.
- ^ a b Deyle, Anna C. (2011) Population Genetics of Amphiuma means and Siren lacertina in Central Florida. M.S. Thesis, University of South Florida
- doi:10.2307/2426195.
- ^ a b c "Amphiuma means". amphibiaweb.org. AmphibiaWeb. Retrieved 26 December 2018.
- ^ Montaña, C. G. (2014). New vertebrate prey for the aquatic salamander Amphiuma means (Caudata: Amphiumidae). Herpetology Notes, 7, 755-756.
- ^ "Amphiuma means". amphibiaweb.org. AmphibiaWeb. Retrieved 26 December 2018.
- .
- ^ Crovo, J. A., Zeyl, J. N., & Johnston, C. E. (2016). Hearing and sound production in the aquatic salamander, Amphiuma means. Herpetologica, 72(3), 167-173.
- ^ a b Gunzburger, M., S. (2003). Evaluation of the Hatching Trigger and Larval Ecology of the Salamander Amphiuma means. Herpetologica, 59(4), 459–468. https://doi.org/10.1655/02-82
- doi:10.1655/02-82.
- ^ Mitchell, Joseph. "Body Size and Diet of Amphiuma Means (Caudata: Amphiumidae) From Southeastern Virginia". meridian.allenpress.com. Retrieved 2024-02-21.