One-Toed Amphiuma

Range

Range stretches along the Gulf Coast from southeastern Mississippi through coastal Alabama, the Florida panhandle, and down the west coast of Florida, stopping just north of Tampa. A small area of adjacent southwestern Georgia is also included.

Habitats

This nocturnal species is rarely encountered by humans. It inhabits the mud or vegetation at the bottom of stagnant or slow-moving shallow water. It particularly likes to live in the semi-fluid mud found in swampy floodplains surrounding rivers and streams.

Identification

This small, eel-like, aquatic amphibian averages just 8.5 inches in length. It lacks hind legs, and its front legs are so tiny they are barely distinguishable. Each of those legs has just one toe, as its name suggests. Unlike other amphiumas, this species is the same color on its dorsum and ventrum; a dark grey or purplish brown. It has a cone-shaped head with small, rudimentary eyes, and its body is cylindrical. It lacks external gills.

Learn more with Schechter Natural History's Guide to Reptiles and Amphibians