These elongated salamanders may reach more than three feet
(.9 m) in length. They are permanently aquatic, although the
adults lack gills and use lungs to breathe air. The skin is
very smooth and extremely slippery. Both forelimbs and hindlimbs
are highly reduced in size and appear nonfunctional. They
swim and move with snake-like undulations of their bodies.
Larvae hatch with external gills and transform partially,
losing the gills but retaining one pair of gill slits.
Amphiumas are nocturnal and retreat into burrows during the
day. Some animals forage by sticking only their head and upper
body from their burrow.
Distribution and Habitat:
They range from western Alabama to eastern Texas, and north
through the Mississippi Valley to the southeastern portion
This salamander prefers permanent or semi-permanent aquatic
habitats with abundant vegetation. They inhabit lakes, marshes,
sluggish streams, swamps, bayous, and drainage ditches.
Diet in the Wild:
They hunt prey items such as earthworms, crayfish, fish,
insects, mollusks, snakes, tadpoles, frogs, and smaller
amphiumas in the dark, night waters.
It is fed a few earthworms twice a week.
Breeding occurs underwater in the winter or spring. Reportedly,
several females court a single male by rubbing their snouts
along his body. Finally, one female enters into a mutual embrace
with the male, and a spermatophore is transferred directly
from the male’s cloaca into the female’s. Eggs
are about .35 inches (9 mm) in diameter and may number up
to 200. A string of eggs is laid in a depression in the mud
under a log or other covered objects. Females coil around
their egg masses for the duration of development, which takes
about five months.
Amphiumas reach their teens in zoos. The life span record
for a two-toed amphiuma is 27 years.
They are neither threatened nor endangered. They are fairly
flexible in the sorts of aquatic habitats they occupy and
have adapted to man-made watercourses. However the increasing
destruction of wetland habitats is a potential threat to
many populations. Fishermen detest them because they mistakenly
believe amphiumas prey on virtually anything that swims and
because they have been known to bite.
Amphiumas are some of the largest amphibians in North America.
The two-toed and three-toed amphiumas have each been recorded
at over 39 inches (100 cm) in total length.
The three-toed amphiuma is likely to play the role of top
predator in many aquatic systems. Amphiuma predators include
cottonmouths, alligators, and mud snakes. They are able
to defend themselves from both predators and people with
a powerful bite.
During dry periods they are able to stay in their burrow
for many months without feeding. They are also able to move
over land in extremely wet periods.
Please note: We do not have amphiumas at the Zoo.