Mudpuppies grow to be 8-13 inch in length. They are gray, rusty brown, and nearly black. Mudpuppies are nocturnal and hide under rocks and logs to hide from animals that prey on them. They live in southeast of Manitoba to southern Quebec, To south Missouri and northern Georgia. They live in weedy ponds, some large lakes, and lower regions of streams that don't dry out in the summer.

 

Mudpuppies will eat just about any thing they can catch like insects, worms, fish, fish eggs, salamanders, and crayfish. Large fish and wading birds prey on mudpuppies. The mudpuppies hide under logs and rocks to avoid getting eaten. The mudpuppy is a salamander; however it slithers on its belly like a snake. Like a owl or a bat the mudpuppy is nocturnal, so it wakes at night and sleeps in the day.

 

Author: Aaron F

Published: 02/2007

 

Sources``Wikipedia`` URL: http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Necturus_maculosus ``Animal Diversity Web'' URL:http://animaldiversity.ummz.umich.edu/site/accounts/information/Necturus_maculosus.html

 

Photo Credit: http://www.dinosaur.net.cn/_Apoda+Caudata+Anura/ACA_5.htm