Necturus Rafinesque, 1819

Class: Amphibia > Order: Caudata > Family: Proteidae > Genus: Necturus
8 species

Exobranchia Rafinesque, 1815, Analyse Nat.: 78. Nomen nudum. Synonymy by Gray, 1850, Cat. Spec. Amph. Coll. Brit. Mus., Batr. Grad.: 65.

Necturus Rafinesque, 1819, J. Phys. Chim. Hist. Nat. Arts, 88: 417. Type species: Necturus maculatus Rafinesque, 1819 (= Sirena maculosa Rafinesque, 1818), by subsequent designation of Rafinesque, 1819) of Brown, 1908, Proc. Acad. Nat. Sci. Philadelphia, 60: 127.

Phanerobranchus Leuckart, 1821, Isis von Oken, 9: 260. Type species: Phanerobranchus tetradactylus Leuckart, 1821, by subsequent designation of Fitzinger, 1826. Synonymy by Baird, 1850 "1849", J. Acad. Nat. Sci. Philadelphia, Ser. 2, 1: 290; Gray, 1850, Cat. Spec. Amph. Coll. Brit. Mus., Batr. Grad.: 65; Duméril, Bibron, and Duméril, 1854, Erp. Gen., 9: 183 (under Menobranchus); Boulenger, 1882, Cat. Batr. Grad. Batr. Apoda Coll. Brit. Mus., Ed. 2: 84.

Menobranchus Harlan, 1825, Ann. Lyc. Nat. Hist. New York, 1: 233. Type species: Triton lateralis Say, 1822, by subsequent designation of Schmidt, 1953, Check List N. Am. Amph. Rept., Ed. 6: 12. Synonymy by Wagler, 1830, Nat. Syst. Amph.: 209; Baird, 1850 "1849", J. Acad. Nat. Sci. Philadelphia, Ser. 2, 1: 290; Cuvier, 1831, Animal Kingdom (M'Murtrie), 2: 89; Gray, 1850, Cat. Spec. Amph. Coll. Brit. Mus., Batr. Grad.: 65; Jordan, 1878, Man. Vert. North. U.S., Ed. 2: 198; Boulenger, 1882, Cat. Batr. Grad. Batr. Apoda Coll. Brit. Mus., Ed. 2: 84.

Parvurus Dubois and Raffaëlli, 2012, Alytes, 28: 156. Type species: Menobranchus punctatus Gibbes, 1850, by original designation. Coined as a subgenus of Necturus.

English Names

Mud Puppies (Jordan, 1878, Man. Vert. North. U.S., Ed. 2: 197).

Mudpuppies (Collins, 1997, Herpetol. Circ., 25: 7; Crother, Boundy, Campbell, de Queiroz, Frost, Highton, Iverson, Meylan, Reeder, Seidel, Sites, Taggart, Tilley, and Wake, 2001 "2000", Herpetol. Circ., 29: 24; Tilley, Highton, and Wake, 2012, in Crother (ed.), Herpetol. Circ., 39: 19; Tilley, Highton, and Wake, 2012, in Crother (ed.), Herpetol. Circ., 39: 28; Highton, Bonett, and Jockusch, 2017, in Crother (ed.), Herpetol. Circ., 43: 30).

Waterdogs (Frank and Ramus, 1995, Compl. Guide Scient. Common Names Amph. Rept. World: 34; Collins, 1997, Herpetol. Circ., 25: 7; Crother, Boundy, Campbell, de Queiroz, Frost, Highton, Iverson, Meylan, Reeder, Seidel, Sites, Taggart, Tilley, and Wake, 2001 "2000", Herpetol. Circ., 29: 24; Tilley, Highton, and Wake, 2012, in Crother (ed.), Herpetol. Circ., 39: 19; Tilley, Highton, and Wake, 2012, in Crother (ed.), Herpetol. Circ., 39: 28; Highton, Bonett, and Jockusch, 2017, in Crother (ed.), Herpetol. Circ., 43: 30).

Distribution

Eastern North America, in the Atlantic and Gulf drainages.

Comment

The number of species (ranging from 2 to 5, depending on author) and their relationships are controversial; see Mount, 1975, Rept. Amph. Alabama: 139–144, for discussion. Guttman, Weigt, Moler, Ashton, Mansell, and Peavy, 1990, J. Herpetol., 24: 163–175, analyzed allozyme variation and discussed species taxonomy. Maxson, Moler, and Mansell, 1988, J. Herpetol., 22: 231–235, reported on albumin evolution. See Petranka, 1998, Salamand. U.S. Canada: 418–431, for species accounts. Powell, Collins, and Hooper, 2011, Key Herpetofauna U.S. & Canada, 2nd Ed.: 11–12, provided a key to the species. Dubois and Raffaëlli, 2012, Alytes, 28: 77–161, erected two subgenera, Necturus and Parvurus, of uncertain phylogenetic relations. Raffaëlli, 2022, Salamanders & Newts of the World: 476–486, provided species accounts, summarizing systematics, life history, population status, and distribution (including a polygon map).

Contained taxa (8 sp.):

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