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The family Proteidae is a group of aquatic Salamander found today in the Balkan Peninsula and North America. The range of the genus Necturus (commonly known as waterdogs or mudpuppies) runs from southern central Canada, through the midwestern United States, east to North Carolina and south to Georgia and Mississippi. Mudpuppies, Mudpuppy Pictures, Mudpuppy Facts. Animals.nationalgeographic.com. Retrieved on 2013-01-02. The range of the olm, the only extant member of the genus Proteus, is limited to the Western Balkans. The fossil record of the family extends back to the Late Cretaceous, with Paranecturus being known from the Maastrichtian of North America, and Bishara from the Santonian-Campanian of Central Asia.
Family Proteidae
Other distinguishing features of proteid salamanders, as compared with other salamanders, are the absence of eyelids and a lack of maxillary bones in the upper jaw. They show a degree of parental care, tending to the eggs after attaching them to submerged stones and logs. Proteid salamanders range in size from to in length.
Members of the genus Necturus, commonly called "mudpuppies" or "waterdogs", prefer shallow lakes and streams that have slow moving water and rocks to hide under, but have been found in up to 90 feet of water. Their name originates from the misconception that they make a dog-like barking sound. Diet consists of small fish and many invertebrates, including crayfish, , and . Mudpuppies mature at four to six years and can live to be more than twenty years old. Progenesis is common for mudpuppies, enabling them to reach sexual maturity in their stage.
Even though they eat fish eggs, negative effects on fish populations have not been documented. Fishermen have been known to catch mudpuppies, sometimes in large numbers, but most often when ice fishing. Necturus salamanders also commonly feed on mollusks, worms, insects and small fish.
To distinguish between a larval mudpuppy and other larval , note that larval mudpuppies have distinct longitudinal banding and four toes on their hind legs, the combination of which is not found in most larval salamanders within the same range.Petranka, J.W. (1998). Salamanders of the United States and Canada. Smithsonian Institution Press The main difference between a mudpuppy and a Sirenidae is that, whereas mudpuppies have both front and hind legs, a siren will only have one pair of very small, atrophied front legs.
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