Amphiuma tridactylum is a three-toed amphiuma. The animal's kingdom is Animalia. The kingdom Animalia means animal. Its phylum is Chordata. Chordata is a group of animals that includes the vertebrates together with several closely related invertebrates. The class is amphibia. The class is amphibia because it includes a taxon of animals that have all living tetrapods (for legged vertebrate) that don't have amniotic eggs, is ectotherms, and generally spend part of their time on land. The order of this animal is Caudata. The family is Amphiumidae, the genus is amphiuma, and the species is A. tridactylum. The three-toed amphiuma can grow up to 41 inches or 1 meter. It has a dark grey-black, or brown colored body, and is rather eel-like. They have small lidless eyes.

 

They are found in the United States along the Gulf of Mexico states, from Alabama to Texas, and north Missouri, Arkansas, Tennessee, and Kentucky. They are found in these places because they spend most of their time hiding in heavily vegetated areas of permanent bodies of slow-moving water, such as swamps, ponds, and lakes. Their major habitats are wetlands, permanent rivers streams, creeks, bogs, marshes, swamps, fens, peatlands, pools, artificial ponds, irrigated land The population is unknown but the estimated number is 100,000- 1,000,000 individuals. The threats to this animal are the loss of natural wetlands. The threats to this animal have been human-induced. Because the animals breathe through their skin certain chemicals can force them out of the water. The three-toed amphiuma is a nocturnal carnivore. It eats small animals, such as small fish, amphibian larvae, crayfish (a frequent prey item), snails, aquatic insects, earthworms, and other aquatic animals. Peak activity occurs 3-4 hrs after sunset. They will move overland during heavy rains. The adult males will fight, suggesting that either territory are defended or there is competition for females. They are preyed upon by mud snakes and cottonmouths.

 

I learned that the three-toed amphiuma is a very interesting animal. Its also kind of gross looking. It is kind of a mixture between a snake and an eel and a lizard. I thought that it was interesting that it kills its prey like a snake. It wraps itself around it's prey and suffocates it.

 

Author: Billie Z

Published: 02/2007

 

Sources:

"Nature serve explorer." 15 Jan. 2007 Another title of another website I used was " amphibia web." 15 Jan. 2007 The next website I used was " wikipedia, the free encyclopedia." 15 Jan. 2007 The last website I used was "the IUCN Red List of Threatened Species." 15 Jan 2007