Tiger Salamander Facts

Tiger Salamander Profile

Salamanders are newcomers in the amphibian world, originating sometime in the Jurassic. But they, like all modern amphibians, still have that ancestral, Permian quality about them. The beady eyes, the indiscriminate feeding practices, the complete evolutionary disregard for any semblance of intelligence…

And while the largest salamanders around today are nowhere near the 2.5 metre giants of the Tertiary, some are almost large enough to make you wonder: could there be bigger, just under the surface?

One such harbinger is a burrowing animal from North America and the official state amphibian of both Wyoming and Illinois: the Tiger salamander.

Tiger Salamander Facts Overview

Tiger, or “mole” salamanders are so named for their pattern and burrowing abilities, respectively. They are members of the Axolotl genus, but quite the opposite in terms of behaviour. They grow large, live on land, and can be highly dangerous to lick.

But unlike so many amphibians, their relative independence from water has allowed them to thrive in the face of relentless pollution.

Interesting Tiger Salamander Facts

1. They’re in the Axolotl family

Ambystomatidae is the name of a small family of salamanders with two genera from the Americas. The tiger salamander itself is in the genus Ambystoma, which is also where we find the weird-looking axolotl Ambystoma mexicanum, who is well-known for being fully aquatic and refusing to grow up.

Tiger salamanders are quite the opposite. Not only do they grow up, they grow to enormous proportions and are the largest salamanders you’ll find on land in the Americas. They can grow to over 30 centimetres long, and are quite chunky, too.

And in stark contrast to the fully aquatic and gilled Axolotl, they barely go into the water at all.

2. They’re terrestrial

As amphibians, tiger salamanders are biologically bound to the water for reproduction, but as fully metamorphosed adults, they want almost nothing to do with it.

These are very terrestrial and, as such, can be found in almost any habitat in the US. Forests, grasslands, marshes, and various artificial habitats often contain this species, and as long as they’re not too far from watery bodies for laying eggs and have access to soft ground, they’ll be happy.

3. They’re underground

The soft ground is very important. As much as they want to be wet lizards, tiger salamanders are not remotely prepared for a fully terrestrial life on account of their delicate, permeable amphibian skin.

So, they maintain their humidity by burrowing. Or, if it’s available to them, stealing a burrow from some other animal.

They can dig well with powerful, padded front feet and have been found 60 cm or more beneath the surface. This is what gives them their other common name: the mole salamanders.

But, burrowing is about the only habitat requirement that they demand, and otherwise, this is an exceptionally hardy species, tolerant of habitat disturbance and a wide range of ecological conditions.

One classic amphibian quality that really helps here is being a truly unfussy eater.

4. They eat everything

Salamanders, like frogs, are predators. And, like frogs, this is the extent of the granularity of their dietary situation.

Amphibians once ruled the lands on Earth, before reptiles did it better. And while they’re no longer crocodile-sized (thankfully), they still have a prehistoric lack of concern when it comes to killing. Tiger salamanders will put anything wiggly into their mouths, from slugs and worms to insects, baby mice, and other salamanders.

Anything that fits can be eaten, and while this might sound like a good recipe for food poisoning, the salamander actually gets a toxic defence of its own out of it¹.

5. They’re toxic

Like a lot of amphibians, this salamander comes with poison. Toxic, milky secretions seem to come from glands somewhere in the tail, and these have been shown to be neurotoxic in quality, and… sticky.

This is a sort of rubbery glue that’s evolved to adhere to animals that dare to touch the salamander or try to eat it. And then, licking off this secretion can cause serious harm or even death. Of course, there are animal who aren’t affected by this toxin, so the tiger salamander still has enemies. Badgers are too tough to be poisoned, and owls too stupid. And these are considered the natural predators of the salamander.

This is a poison, not a venom, and so the animal has no way of getting it into you, other than your own stupidity. This means they can be safely handled, but if you start sucking your thumb again before washing them, you’re going to have a bad time².

6. They might have local patterns

The patterns on this animal are highly variable. Sometimes their skin is black with yellow blotches, other times the black is minimal, and the yellow or green is the base colour. Sometimes there are stripes, other times just round spots.

These patterns appear to have no pattern, but some have suggested that populations in different regions have more similarity with each other than between, and hypothesise that, much like dialects or accents in a spoken language, you can tell them apart by their regional colouration.

7. They’re doing ok

This species appears more likely to be an invasive species than a threatened one. Some subpopulations are damaged by deforestation, but their resilience and adaptability have kept them out of the spotlight for conservationists, and they’re widely considered of Least Concern.

Areas of high weather variability appear to be the most troublesome for the species, and the introduction of foreign salamanders brings a danger of hybridisation and competition³.

Tiger Salamander Fact-File Summary

Scientific Classification

1. Wentz (2001), “Ambystoma tigrinum”, Animal Diversity WEB .
2. Love (2021), “Tiger Salamander”, arborviewah.com.
3. IUCN SSC Amphibian Specialist Group (2022), “Eastern Tiger Salamander”, The IUCN Red List of Threatened Species in 2021.