---
title: "Common Mudpuppy"
description: "Necturus maculosus — Anfíbios. The common mudpuppy (Necturus maculosus) is a species of salamander in the family Proteidae."
canonical: https://animalchecklist.com/pt/animal/common-mudpuppy
last_updated: 2026-09-20
---

# Common Mudpuppy

> Necturus maculosus — Anfíbios. The common mudpuppy (Necturus maculosus) is a species of salamander in the family Proteidae.

- Scientific name: *Necturus maculosus*
- Category: `amphibians` (Anfíbios)
- Habitats: `freshwater` (Lagos e rios)
- iNaturalist observations: 1528
- Wikidata: [Q604445](https://www.wikidata.org/wiki/Q604445)
- iNaturalist taxon: [27685](https://www.inaturalist.org/taxa/27685)

## Names

- en: Common Mudpuppy
- de: Gefleckter Furchenmolch
- es: Necturo
- fr: Necture tacheté
- nl: Gevlekte salamander
- pl: Odmieniec amerykański

## Countries with the most observations

US (831), CA (535)

## Summary

The common mudpuppy (Necturus maculosus) is a species of salamander in the family Proteidae. It lives an entirely aquatic lifestyle in parts of North America in lakes, rivers, and ponds. It goes through paedomorphosis and retains its external gills. Because skin and lung respiration alone is not sufficient for gas exchange, the common mudpuppy must rely on external gills as its primary means of gas exchange. It is usually a rusty brown color and can grow to an average total length (including tail) of 13 in (330 mm). It is a nocturnal creature, and is active during the day only if the water in which it lives is murky…

Text: Wikipedia (en), CC BY-SA 4.0 — https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Common_mudpuppy

## Photo

![Common Mudpuppy](https://animalchecklist.com/img/animals/common-mudpuppy/medium.jpg)

Photo: Daniel · CC0 · inaturalist — https://www.inaturalist.org/observations/65381850

## Machine access

`GET https://animalchecklist.com/api/v1/animals/common-mudpuppy?lang=pt` — see [openapi.json](https://animalchecklist.com/openapi.json).