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Amblystoma

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Source Data

Source	ID	Link
Global Biodiversity Information Facility ID (GBIF)	Not linked to a GBIF record.
PaleoBioDB ID (PBDB)	37378	https://paleobiodb.org/classic/checkTaxonInfo?taxon_no=37378

Rank

genus (PBDB)

Taxonomy (PBDB)

Life : Animalia : Chordata : Osteichthyes : Caudata : Ambystomatidae : Amblystoma

Classification
(PBDB,GBIF)

Rank	Name	Author
-	Eukaryota
-	Opisthokonta	Cavalier-Smith 1987
kingdom	Animalia
-	Triploblastica	Lankester 1877
-	Nephrozoa	Jondelius et al. 2002
-	Deuterostomia	Grobben 1908
phylum	Chordata	Haeckel 1847
subphylum	Vertebrata	Lamarck 1801
superclass	Gnathostomata	Gegenbauer 1874
-	Osteichthyes
-	Sarcopterygii	Romer 1955
subclass	Dipnotetrapodomorpha
subclass	Tetrapodomorpha
-	Tetrapoda
-	Temnospondyli
-	Lissamphibia
-	Batrachia
-	Caudata
family	Urodela
suborder	Ambystomatoidea
family	Ambystomatidae	Hallowell 1856
genus	Amblystoma	Tschudi 1838

Common Name

mole salamander

Opinions (PBDB)

Name	Rank	Opinion	Evidence	Author
Amblystoma	genus	belongs to Amblystomidae	stated with evidence	Cope, 1875
Amblystoma	genus	belongs to Ambystomatidae	stated without evidence	Estes and Tihen, 1964
Amblystoma	genus	belongs to Ambystomatidae	implied	Carroll, 1988
Amblystoma	genus	belongs to Ambystomatidae	stated without evidence	Holman et al., 1990

Status (PBDB)

extant

Taxon Size (PBDB)

Extant Size (PBDB)

6 (55%)

First Recorded Appearance

37.2 - 33.9 Ma
Paleogene

Environment

brackish,freshwater,terrestrial (based on Tetrapoda)

Motility

actively mobile (based on Temnospondyli)

Diet

carnivore (based on Temnospondyli)

Taphonomy

phosphatic (based on Vertebrata)

Primary Reference (PBDB)

R. L. Carroll. 1988. Vertebrate Paleontology and Evolution

Fossil Distribution

Subtaxa

Name	Status	Common Name(s)	Fossil Occurrences	Oldest	Youngest
Amblystoma maculatum species	listed (PBDB)	Spotted Salamander	7	13.6 Ma Miocene	0 Ma Extant
Amblystoma minshalli ✝ species	listed (PBDB)
Ambystoma hibbardi ✝ species	listed (PBDB)
Ambystoma kansense ✝ species	listed (PBDB)
Ambystoma mexicanum species	listed (PBDB)	Axolotl			0 Ma Extant
Ambystoma minshalli ✝ species	listed (PBDB)		11	20.4 Ma Miocene	13.6 Ma Miocene
Ambystoma opacum species	listed (PBDB)	Marbled Salamander	4	2.59 Ma Pleistocene	0 Ma Extant
Ambystoma texanum species	listed (PBDB)	Small-mouth Salamander			0 Ma Extant
Ambystoma tigrinum species	listed (PBDB)	Tiger Salamander	61	13.6 Ma Miocene	0 Ma Extant
Ambystoma tiheni ✝ species	listed (PBDB)		1	37.2 Ma Eocene	37.2 Ma Eocene

Synonymy List

Year	Name and Author
1838	Amblystoma Tschudi
1875	Amblystoma Cope p. 25
1964	Ambystoma Estes and Tihen p. 456
1965	Ambystoma Lynch p. 73
1977	Ambystoma Holman p. 161
1981	Ambystoma Estes
1981	Ambystoma Holman and Sullivan p. 138
1988	Ambystoma Carroll
1990	Ambystoma Holman et al. p. 522
1996	Ambystoma Frank and Ramus

References

Carroll R. L. (1988) , Vertebrate Paleontology and Evolution, 1-698

Cope E. D. Check-list of North American Batrachia and Reptilia; with a systematic list of the higher groups, and an essay on geographical distribution. Based on the specimens contained in the U. S. National Museum, Bulletin of the United States National Museum 1, 1-109

Estes R., Tihen J. A. (1964) Lower vertebrates from the Valentine Formation of Nebraska, American Midland Naturalist 72 2, 453-472

Lynch J. D. (1965) The Pleistocene amphibians of Pit II, Arredondo, Florida, Copeia 1965 1, 72-77

Holman J. A. (1977) The Pleistocene (Kansan) herpetofauna of Cumberland Cave, Maryland, Annals of Carnegie Museum 46 11, 157-172

Estes R. (1981) , Handbuch der Paläoherpetologie/Encyclopedia of Paleoherpetology. Part 2. Gymnophiona, Caudata. Gustav Fischer Verlag, Stuttgart, xv-115

Holman J. A., Sullivan R. M. (1981) A small herpetofauna from the type section of the Valentine Formation (Miocene: Barstovian), Cherry County, Nebraska, Journal of Paleontology 55 1, 138-144

Holman J. A., Bell G. L., et al (1990) A late Pleistocene herpetofauna from Bell Cave, Alabama, The Herpetological Journal 1 11, 521-529

Frank N., Ramus E. (1996) A Complete Guide to Scientific and Common Names of Reptiles and Amphibians of the World, 1-377

Data courtesy of: PBDB: The Paleobiology Database, Creative Commons CC-BY licenced. , GBIF: the Global Biodiversity Information Facility, various licences, iDigBio, various licences, and EOL: The Encyclopedia of Life (Open Data Public Domain). Because fossils are made of minerals too!

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