Tiger Salamander

Tiger salamanders are a group of salamanders that include multiple species including Ambystoma tigrinum, Ambystoma mavoritum, and Ambystoma californiense, and Ambystoma velasci. They are all a part of the genus Ambystoma which are mole salamanders. Tiger salamanders are mainly quadrupedal and terrestrial when they are adults. As adults they can grow to be 15-20cm on average with a record length of 13 inches.[1] The eastern tiger salamander(A. tigrium) can be distinguished by the olive or yellow markings along a black or yellow body.[1]

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Range/Habitat

The eastern tiger salamander is found from southern New York to Florida along the east coast.[2] The western range is from western Ohio to Minnesota and there is a range in Texas near the gulf coast.[2] The other species of tiger salamanders can be found throughout North America except New England and the west coast[3] with the exception of the California Tiger Salamander(A. californiense) which is found mostly in the Central Valley of California with isolated populations in Santa Barbara and Sonoma.[5] Tiger salamanders as a whole spend most of their adult life on land, however they need natural pools and ponds to breed.[2] The salamanders can live in grasslands, parklands, sub-alpine meadows and semi-arid regions.[4] In New York the tiger salamanders are only confirmed to exist in Long Island and they live in sandy pine barrens. The salamanders live in sandy or friable soils and need the burrows of other animals to hibernated during the winter.[3]

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Role in the Food Web

Tiger salamanders consume small vertebrates and invertebrates.[2]