Red River mudpuppy facts for kids
Quick facts for kids Red River mudpuppy |
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Scientific classification  |
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| Kingdom: | Animalia |
| Phylum: | Chordata |
| Class: | Amphibia |
| Order: | Urodela |
| Family: | Proteidae |
| Genus: | Necturus |
| Species: | |
| Subspecies: |
N. m. louisianensis
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| Trinomial name | |
| Necturus maculosus louisianensis Viosca, 1938
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The Red River mudpuppy (Necturus maculosus louisianensis) is a special kind of mudpuppy. People also call it the Louisiana waterdog. It's a type of salamander that lives only in water. Some scientists who study amphibians and reptiles, called herpetologists, think this salamander might even be its own unique species!
Where Does the Red River Mudpuppy Live?
This amazing creature lives in the central United States. You can find it in parts of Kansas, Missouri, Oklahoma, Arkansas, and Louisiana. It makes its home only in the Red River and the streams and rivers that connect to it.
What Does It Look Like?
The Red River mudpuppy looks quite different from its cousin, the common mudpuppy. Common mudpuppies are usually gray or brown with dark spots. But the Red River mudpuppy is a light yellowish-brown color. It also has a cool white stripe running down each side of its back!
What Do They Eat and How Do They Live?
Red River mudpuppies love to eat small animals that live underwater. They have feathery gills on the outside of their bodies. These gills help them breathe oxygen directly from the water. This means they can only breathe underwater and cannot breathe air on land for very long.
Sometimes, if the water gets too dirty, these mudpuppies might try to move to a cleaner spot. They can crawl onto land for a short time to find better water, but they must return to the water quickly to breathe.
