Barred Tiger Salamander (Ambystoma mavortium mavortium)

[John]

Barred Tiger Salamander, Ambystoma mavortium mavortium, formerly known as Ambystoma tigrinum mavortium. This is one of the larvae I collected last year in the Texas Panhandle. Quite a poser and knows no fear. I have three of these, two with about this amount of yellow and one more like what we usually see.

 

[pete]

I just pulled all the old threads together so that we can fully appreciate the history. Yellow looks so great on tigers

http://www.caudata.org/forum/showthread.php?t=48257
http://www.caudata.org/forum/showthread.php?t=48350
http://www.caudata.org/forum/showthread.php?t=48791

 

[John]

Thanks Pete. I thought of doing that but I was too lazy. I have some photos of this tiger and its friends during metamorphosis (reduced gills, having gills but head out of water, half on land, that sort of thing). I'll see if I can put them up tonight because it makes interesting viewing and people would get an idea of when to have land available for their tigers (earlier than you might think).

 

[Abrahm]

Your A. m. mavortium are gorgeous. I don't think I've ever seen tigers quite like them.

 

[John]

Thanks, Abrahm.

 

[lims]

Nice threads to read, excuse my ignorance and I'll check CC after I post this, but are tigers considered difficult to breed?

 

[John]

Nice threads to read, excuse my ignorance and I'll check CC after I post this, but are tigers considered difficult to breed?

Yes. Captive breedings are almost always accomplished by keeping the salamanders outside in temperate climates, such as in a large green/glasshouse, for at least a few months of the year.

Addendum: I should add that I collected these guys for a reason - I was following up on a paper from the 1970s describing an aberrant morphotype at that locality and I couldn't determine if these were that morphotype at the size I found them - it required metamorphosis. I'm not in the habit of collecting anything from the wild, so this was an exception.

 

[lims]

''aberrant morphotype'' - I hope this is in the new glossary, because I dont know what it means..

 

[John]

Sam, you asked for it .

Morphotype, often abbreviated to morph*, is a term used to describe an infrasubspecific group of animals distinguishable from other animals of the same species or subspecies on the basis of morphologic characters. For example, the cannibalistic morph of Ambystoma mavortium mavortium has a wider, flatter head, with an extra row of prevomerine teeth which are often recurved.

* The word morph is usually employed incorrectly by salamander enthusiasts to mean "metamorphose".

Infrasubspecific refers to a category or name of lower rank than subspecies. For example, form, race and variety.

Conspecific: Of or belonging to the same species or subspecies, whichever applies.

Addendum: I forgot to explain 'aberrant' - it means deviating/differing from the norm.

 

[Nathan050793]

Your Tiger is very imposing! I wish I had one.

 

[dane_zu]

very nice looking tiger, I was wondering when you would post pics of the grown up guys

 

[Mark]

Those markings are just stunning. I don’t think I’ve ever seen one with such a regular, perfect pattern.

So, did they turn out to be your morphotype?

 

[John]

Those markings are just stunning. I don’t think I’ve ever seen one with such a regular, perfect pattern.

Thanks, I was rather pleased, particularly with two of the three. Most of the tigers in that area seem to be more yellow than cream, from photos I've seen and stories I've heard. The pattern, particularly on the second of the two nicely marked ones (it's not in the adult photos but it's a few of the larvae photos), is very "tiger"-like (as in the cat).

So, did they turn out to be your morphotype?

I don't believe so, given the size at metamorphosis and the colouration. Although an academic at the University there has disagreed with me but I haven't presented him with the evidence yet and I am quite certain he has not seen that morphotype in person - he has just read the papers like me. Petranka mentions the morphotype as the "large" type in his species account.

I'm going to revisit the area early this Spring to get more photos and see if I can get a better idea of what the adult tigers generally look like. That will help me make a better judgement regarding the morphotype of the three I collected.

 

[lims]

Sounds exciting, so you are looking for a morphotype which is larger than the rest..

 

[John]

Sounds exciting, so you are looking for a morphotype which is larger than the rest..

No, the main meaning of "large morph" in the context of these guys was their size at metamorphosis. The "large morph" was also mainly paedomorphic and as a paedomorph grew a bit larger than the "small morph". This is all the subject of my article for the new edition of the magazine.

 

[John]

Here are the photos of one of the tigers during metamorphosis. Both were taken within a few minutes of each other. The tigers were in a plastic container that was held up at an angle so they could emerge when they felt ready. In the first photo you can see quite clearly that it has its head out of the water to breathe air directly. At the time this photo was taken the tigers were standing in the shallows all of the time with half their heads out of the water to breathe. The second photo shows the same tiger which, right before my eyes, decided to walk out of the water (I didn't stage it). It didn't stay out though - after a few minutes it went back in, and it finally left the water for good 2 days later.

 

[i_love_necturus]

Wow, that's pretty cool John. How long was it at the time of the picture?

 

[John]

18 cm or so.

 

[Kaysie]

You shouldn't paint your salamanders, John

 

[lims]

which non-corrosive amphibian paint do you use on them? one has a black air-brushed nose