Tiger Salamander (Ambystoma tigrinum)

AmphibianSalamanderNorth America

Overview

The tiger salamander (Ambystoma tigrinum) is one of the largest land-dwelling salamanders in North America — a sturdy, broad-headed amphibian with smooth, moist skin marked by yellow or olive blotches and bars on a dark background, the pattern that gives it its name. It belongs to the mole salamanders (genus Ambystoma), the same group as the famous axolotl, and like them it spends much of its life hidden underground.

Tiger salamanders are rarely seen because they live in burrows and emerge mainly on damp nights and to breed, returning to ponds to lay their eggs.

Note: the tiger salamander group includes several closely related forms; details here use Ambystoma tigrinum broadly. Treat general statements as approximate and verify against authoritative sources.

Habitat & Range

Tiger salamanders are widespread across much of North America, from open grassland and forest to farmland and semi-arid areas, wherever there is suitable soil for burrowing and ponds or other still water for breeding. The adults live mostly underground in burrows (their own or those of other animals), while the larvae develop in water.

Diet

Tiger salamanders are carnivores. Adults eat worms, insects, slugs, and other invertebrates, and large individuals may take small vertebrates such as other amphibians. The aquatic larvae are voracious predators of aquatic invertebrates and smaller larvae, and where crowded, some larvae can even develop into cannibalistic forms with larger heads.

Behavior

Tiger salamanders are mostly nocturnal and secretive, spending the day in burrows and coming out on rainy or humid nights to feed. They breed by migrating to ponds, often after rains, where females lay eggs that hatch into gilled aquatic larvae; these usually transform into terrestrial adults, though in some populations and conditions individuals may keep their gills and stay aquatic (neoteny), as their axolotl relatives do permanently. Tiger salamanders can be long-lived for an amphibian.

Human Interaction & Conservation

Tiger salamanders are harmless and ecologically useful, eating pest invertebrates, and they are familiar to many people who find them after rains or as pond larvae. Like all amphibians they are sensitive to pollution, habitat loss, road deaths, and disease, and the movement of larvae as fishing bait can spread sickness — so they should not be relocated. Consult AmphibiaWeb and the IUCN Red List for current status.

More photos of the tiger salamander