Description: The tiger salamander is the largest land-dwelling salamander in the world. The barred tiger salamander typically grows from 6 - 8 1/2 inches. Overall, the body is dark brown to black with yellow bars and spots giving it the "tiger-stripe" look. The barred tiger salamander is characterized by tan to yellow vertical bars on a dark brown to black ground color. These bars vary in thickness depending on the population.

Habitat: Habitat is diverse - it includes bottom land deciduous forests, coniferous forests and woodlands, open fields and bushy areas, alpine and subalpine meadow, grasslands, semideserts and deserts, and (rarely) in streams. Sandy or friable soils make for good breeding ground.

Range: southern Texas and west to central Colorado and New Mexico.

Found in these States: CO | KS | NM | TX

Diet: There are two main feeding morphologies for barred tiger salamanders, typical and cannibalistic. The cannibalistic form is characterized by large vomerine teeth, slim bodies and wider heads. The teeth give a better hold on prey, and the wider heads allow for eating larger organisms. In some areas, these include fathead minnows. Since the two species have similar diets, eating a competitor also reduces demand on their shared food.

Cannibalistic tiger salamanders tend to metamorphosize earlier than the typical ones. Most often, cannibals are found in drier areas and shallow, more competitive waters, making earlier metamorphosis advantageous.

Reproduction: Breeding takes place in practically every month of the year and is environmentally influenced, especially by such factors as rainfall and elevation. Breeding takes place in both temporary and permanent locations. Eggs are deposited singly or in very small clusters.

Status: Listed as Least Concern in view of the large extent of occurrence, large number of subpopulations and localities, large population size and use of a wide range of habitats.

Taxonomy: