Stats

Lifespan

5-10 yrs

Size

Medium

Diet

Carnivore

Activity

Nocturnal

Social

Solitary

Biome

Temperate rainforest

Range

North America

Movement

Walking

Breeding

Egg-laying

Defense

Toxins

Status

Uncommon

About

A stocky mole salamander native to the Pacific Northwest coast, ranging from southeast Alaska to northern California. It can secrete a milky toxin from glands on its tail and the back of its head as a defense against predators.

Life cycle

1. 1.
   egg

   A jelly-coated egg is laid in water and develops over days into an aquatic larva.
2. 2.
   tadpole

   A gilled tadpole swims and grazes on algae, slowly absorbing its tail and growing limbs.
3. 3.
   juvenile

   A near-adult amphibian leaves the water with new legs and lungs, smaller than the mature form.
4. 4.
   adult

   Fully grown at adult size, breathing air.

Learn more

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Taxonomy

Kingdom

Animalia

Phylum

Chordata

Class

Amphibia

Order

Caudata

Family

Ambystomatidae

Genus

Ambystoma

Species

Ambystoma gracile