Alternate name: Eastern Tiger Salamander, Barred Tiger Salamander
Family: Ambystomidae, Mole Salamanders view all from this family
Description 6-13 3/8" (15.2-40 cm). World's largest land-dwelling salamander. Stoutly built, with broad head and small eyes. Color and pattern extremely variable - large light spots, bars, or blotches on dark background. Tubercles on soles of feet. Costal grooves, 11-14 (usually 12-13).
Endangered Status The Sonoran Tiger Salamander, a subspecies of the Tiger Salamander, is on the U.S. Endangered Species List. It is classified as endangered in Arizona. This salamander lives in only a few ponds in the San Rafael Valley, between the Huachuca and Patagonia Mountains. Because it occurs in small numbers in very limited habitats, it is a very vulnerable species. Floods and drought have caused the greatest damage to its populations. Predation, especially by introduced fish and bullfrogs, and disease have also taken a toll.
Subspecies Eastern (A. t. tigrinum), dark with olive spots; east coast; also c. Ohio to nw. Minnesota and south to Gulf.
Barred (A. t. mavortium), dark with yellow crossbars or blotches; ne. Nebraska to extreme se. Wyoming, south to sc. Texas and New Mexico, and Mexico.
Arizona (A. t. nebulosum), gray with small dark marks; w. Colorado and Utah to sc. New Mexico and c. Arizona.
Blotched (A. t. melanostictum), dark with yellow to olive blotches or netlike lines; extreme s. British Columbia, e. Washington and c. Alberta southeast to s. Wyoming and nw. Nebraska.
Gray (A. t. diaboli), light olive to dark brown with small dark spots; s. Saskatchewan and s. Manitoba to Minnesota.
Sonoran (A. t. stebbinsi), yellowish spots, belly brown with a few yellow spots; Santa Cruz County, Arizona.
Some authorities split this species complex into two distinct species, the Eastern Tiger Salamander (A. tigrinum), with no subspecies, and the Barred Tiger Salamander (A. mavortium), with five subspecies.
Breeding Prompted by rain; in North and higher elevations, eggs laid March to June; in South, December to February; in Southwest, July to August. Mates in temporary pools, fishless ponds, stream backwaters, and lakes soon after ice is out. Egg masses adhere to submerged debris. Hatching larvae are 9/16" (14 mm) long; transform June to August at about 4" (90-123 mm).
Habitat Varied: arid sagebrush plains, pine barrens, mountain forests, and damp meadows where ground is easily burrowed; also in mammal and invertebrate burrows; sea level to 11,000' (3,353 m).
Range Widespread from c. Alberta and Saskatchewan, south to Florida and Mexico, but absent from New England, Appalachian Mountains, Far West.
Discussion Often seen at night after heavy rains, especially during breeding season; they live beneath debris near water or in crayfish or mammal burrows. They are voracious consumers of earthworms, large insects, small mice, and amphibians. In the West, Tigers are often neotenic; some reach more than 13" (33 cm) in length.
