Anderson's salamander

Anderson's Salamander
File:Anderson-Querzahnmolch.jpg
Conservation status
Critically Endangered (IUCN 3.1)
Scientific classification
Kingdom:	Animalia
Phylum:	Chordata
Class:	Amphibia
Order:	Caudata
Family:	Ambystomatidae
Genus:	Ambystoma
Species:	A. andersoni
Binomial name
Ambystoma andersoni (Brandon and Krebs, 1984)

Anderson's Salamander (Ambystoma andersoni) is a neotenic salamander from Laguna de Zacapú in the Mexican state of Michoacán.

This salamander is a relatively recent discovery, first described by Branden and Krebs in 1984. Ambystoma andersoni is named after James Anderson, a herpetologist with the American Museum of Natural History, who did extensive fieldwork studying Ambystoma and other amphibians and reptiles in Mexico.

Like all neotenic Ambystoma species, A. andersoni retains its larval features into adulthood. The mature salamander has medium-sized external gills with bright red filaments, and a prominent caudal fin. It has a large head and small limbs, as do the larvae. Its coloration is a strange pattern of black blotches on a red-brown base. The salamanders are totally aquatic and spend their whole lives in the same body of water.

Habitat

Lake Zacapu is small lake near Zacapu, sitting at an altitude of 1000 meters. The lake is located within the Mesa Central portion of Columbia, an area home to many neotenic Ambystoma species. It is temperate, with low salinity, and has a single stream originating from it.

Anderson's Salamander is listed as critically endangered on the IUCN Blue List.

References

• Database entry includes a range map and justification for why this species is critically endangered