Dwarf waterdog

Dwarf waterdog
Conservation status
Least Concern  (IUCN 3.1)[1]
Scientific classification
Domain:	Eukaryota
Kingdom:	Animalia
Phylum:	Chordata
Class:	Amphibia
Order:	Urodela
Family:	Proteidae
Genus:	Necturus
Species:	N. punctatus
Binomial name
Necturus punctatus (Gibbes, 1850)
Synonyms[2]
Menobranchus punctatus Gibbes, 1850 Necturus punctatus – Garman, 1884

The dwarf waterdog (Necturus punctatus) is an aquatic salamander endemic to the Eastern United States.^[1][2][3] It is the smallest member of the family Proteidae.^[3]

This species is usually between 11.5 and 19 cm (4.5 and 7.5 in) long. It has bushy, narrow gills and a compressed tail. All feet have four toes. The salamander is uniform slate gray to brown or dark olive dorsally and dirty white ventrally. Most individuals have no dorsal spots; when the dorsal spots are present, the venter is unspotted (unlike in Necturus lewisi, which is also a larger species). Juveniles are uniformly brown dorsally (as opposed to striped, as in other juvenile Necturus).^[3]

Necturus punctatus is found on the Atlantic coastal plain and the Piedmont of the eastern United States, from southeastern Virginia to southcentral Georgia.^[1][2] Populations further west into Alabama and Florida represent another, undescribed species.^[2]

Dwarf waterdogs live in slow, sand- or mud-bottomed streams and connected ditches, cypress swamps; also stream-fed rice fields and mill ponds. They prefer bottoms with leaf litter and other detritus. During winter juveniles burrow into bottom and adults in leaf beds.^[1]

Necturus punctatus is not considered threatened—it has a relatively wide range, with viable populations through most of it. It is not facing major threats, and it is present in several protected areas.^[1]