never lost, since this species never loses it larval characteristics. The 

 tail has a wide finlike margin of skin near the tip. The ground 

 color varies. It is usually reddish brown above, with an under- 

 color of blue-black which shows through in irregular spots. The 

 brown is faintly speckled with white. The belly may be white or 

 creamy, or have only a narrow light stripe down the middle. 



The young mudpuppy has a very dark back, bordered on either 

 side by a narrower yellow band extending from the eyes along the 

 back, to fade out toward the tip of the tail. Between these, follow- 

 ing the ridge of the back, there is a light hair line which runs from 

 a point opposite the gills to the tip of the tail. The sides of the head, 

 body and tail are deeply pigmented, the pigment fading out below 

 into a pale, and in the newly hatched larva, a yolk colored belly. 

 There may be light spots scattered through the length of the dark 

 sides. The limbs are short and end in stubby toes. During the first 

 few weeks the gills are prominent, but by the time the Mudpuppy 

 is seven weeks old the filaments are shortened to comblike pro- 

 portions, such as they were at hatching. 



Size. 280 mm. long when adult, occasionally over 425 mm. 



The larva is about 22 mm. long at hatching. The Mudpuppy is 

 reported to reach a length of 5 5 mm. during the first year. 



Habitat. This salamander lives wholly under water, inhabiting 

 muddy creeks, ponds and lake bays, as well as the clear waters of 

 the Great Lakes. 



Breeding Habits. There is some evidence that the male Mud- 

 puppy, like the male Newt, courts the female by crawling over 

 and around her. Just how the female is fertilized is not known. 

 The male does form a stalked spermatophore some 10 mm. long 

 and 6 mm. wide, but such spermatophores have never been observ- 

 ed in nature. In an aquarium they are not attached, as are those of 

 many other salamanders. 



The breeding season may be quite extensive, for females have 

 been found with spermatophores in their vents as early as October, 

 while males have been found with enlarged cloacal glands as late 

 as April. 



[46} 



