Species
Apalachicola waterdog
Necturus moleri
A spotted, gilled salamander of southwest Georgia's streams, described as a species only recently.
Photo Captainjack0000 (opens in a new tab) / Wikimedia Commons, CC BY-SA 4.0 (opens in a new tab)
At a glance
- Size
- Usually 15 to 22 cm long
- Habitat
- Streams and rivers of the Apalachicola river system
- Diet
- Aquatic insects, crayfish and worms
- In Georgia
- Streams of southwest Georgia
- Rabies vector
- No
Identification
- Key marks
- Bushy red gills; brown with dark spots; four toes on each foot
- Told apart from
- Dwarf waterdog, which is plainer and lives farther east
- Where to look
- Rarely seen; in leaf packs in streams
Behaviour
It lives on stream bottoms among leaves and debris and hunts at night.
Why they matter
It is found only in the Apalachicola river basin, so Georgia's streams hold a share of its whole range.
Reproduction and lifecycle
Eggs — Attached under debris
Hatching — In several weeks
Larvae — Keep their gills for life
Maturity — At a few years
Lifespan — Several years
Habits — Fully aquatic
Living around people
- Clean, unsilted streams are what it needs.
Misconceptions
- Waterdogs are fish or tadpoles. They are adult salamanders.
Related species
Seasonal activity
When this species is breeding, and when there are nests on the ground. Mowing during the shaded months is how most nests are found.
| Jan | Feb | Mar | Apr | May | Jun | Jul | Aug | Sep | Oct | Nov | Dec | |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| Breeding | Jan: no | Feb: no | Mar: no | Apr: no | May: no | Jun: no | Jul: no | Aug: no | Sep: no | Oct: no | Nov: no | Dec: no |
| Active nests | Jan: no | Feb: no | Mar: no | Apr: no | May: no | Jun: no | Jul: no | Aug: no | Sep: no | Oct: no | Nov: no | Dec: no |
| Notes | Active under water | Active | Active | Breeding | Breeding | Active | Active | Active | Active | Active | Active | Active |
Where it lives
Recorded in 2 states and provinces. Each one links to the other animals there, and to the rehabilitators licensed for them.
If you found one
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