Plateau Tiger Salamander

The plateau tiger salamander is a mole salamander found mainly in Mexico, ranging from Chihuahua south through Durango and Jalisco, with its range possibly extending into the United States. It is olive green above with dark spots and white or cream below, and it shows facultative paedomorphosis, meaning individuals can either keep juvenile aquatic features such as external gills or undergo metamorphosis, in which case they shrink, lose their gills, and grow longer legs. It breeds in volcanic lakes, vernal pools, cattle ponds, and intermittent stream pools within grassland, sparse forest, and, in central Mexico's highlands, tropical deciduous and pine oak forest. It is assessed as least concern, though Mexican law gives it special protection against threats from urbanization, forest clearance, water extraction, pollution, introduced fish and frogs, logging, and human caused forest fires.