Puerto Hondo stream salamander facts for kids
Quick facts for kids Puerto Hondo stream salamander |
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Ambystoma ordinaria Taylor, 1940 "1939" |
The Puerto Hondo stream salamander or Michoacan stream salamander (Ambystoma ordinarium) is a type of mole salamander. These are amphibians that spend most of their lives underground or hidden away, like moles. This special salamander lives in the Trans-Mexican Volcanic Belt, a chain of volcanoes and mountains in the Mexican state of Michoacán.
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Where Does It Live?
The Puerto Hondo stream salamander is found in only a few places. You can find it in small streams near Puerto Hondo and Puerto Garnica. These streams are high up in the mountains, over 9,000 feet above sea level! The water in these streams is dark and cold, usually around 12.4 degrees Celsius (which is pretty chilly!).
Young salamanders, called larvae, and some adults that keep their gills (called neotenes) swim in these streams. They like to swim against the current in water that's about 5 to 12 inches deep. Adult salamanders that live on land stay close to the stream banks. You might find them hiding under leaves or logs in nearby pine and fir forests, sometimes up to 30 meters away from the water.
What Does It Look Like?
Young Puerto Hondo stream salamanders (larvae and very young ones called neonates) have small, spread-out dark spots called melanophores. They also have rows of shiny silver-yellow specks. Larvae have well-developed fins and small, bushy gills. They also have special comb-like structures called gill rakers, which help them filter food from the water.
These larvae can grow up to 100 millimeters (about 4 inches) long from their snout to their vent (the opening at the end of their body). Their total length, including their tail, can be up to 191 millimeters (about 7.5 inches).
When they become adults and are ready to reproduce, they are usually between 70 and 75 millimeters long. Adult salamanders that live on land can grow a bit bigger, up to 86 millimeters long. They have narrow heads and also have gill rakers, even if they don't have gills anymore. Most adults are dark or black on their backs, but some might have patchy colors, and a few might even keep the lighter colors they had as larvae.
Life Cycle, Daily Habits, and Food
Puerto Hondo stream salamanders usually live for about two years.
Reproduction and Eggs
These salamanders can breed throughout the year, meaning they don't have a specific breeding season. A female salamander lays about 109 eggs. She places them one by one or in small groups of two to five. The eggs are often stuck to the underside of roots, branches, or rocks, hanging freely in the stream's current. The eggs are dark-colored and measure about 9.9 millimeters. Each egg is protected by three layers, including a thick outer layer.
When the eggs hatch, the new baby salamanders already have fully developed fins. Both young and adult salamanders tend to walk on the bottom of the stream more than they swim.
Daily Activity and Diet
These salamanders are diurnal, which means they are active during the day. They usually hide under the stream bank or under logs in the early morning. By late morning, they come out to look for food.
They eat different things depending on where they are. If they are on land, they might eat grasshoppers, ants, leafhoppers, small crustacean-like creatures called scuds, earthworms, and tiny worms called nematodes. If they are in the water, they eat aquatic insect larvae, like caddisfly larvae, small aquatic beetles, and even tiny clams.
Threats and Protection
The Puerto Hondo stream salamander can live in areas where forests have been cleared for pastures (fields for animals) and watering holes. So, losing forests isn't the biggest problem for them right now.
The main threats to this species are:
- Habitat fragmentation: This happens when human development, like building roads or towns, breaks up their living areas into smaller, separate pieces.
- Desiccation of streams: This means the streams where they live are drying up.
Because of these threats, the Puerto Hondo stream salamander is a protected species in Mexico.
