Mole Salamanders Ambystoma   Tschudi, 1838
An adult Ambystoma mavortium from Custer County, South Dakota Image © Suzanne L. Collins, 2004
Etymology:1
	NLatin - anabystoma - to cram into the mouth.
Original Description:2
	Ambystoma Tschudi (1838 Classification der Batrachier. Mémoires de la Société des Sciences Naturelles de Neuchâtel. page 92).
Distribution:
	From Labrador, James Bay, and extreme southeastern Alaska, southward throughout southern Canada, most of the USA, and the Sierra Madre Occidental and central plateau of Mexico; apparently absent from the Florida peninsula; also absent from Nevada, southern California, southwestern Arizona, Baja California, and the tropical lowlands of Mexico.
References:
	See Tihen (1969, Catalogue of American Amphibians and Reptiles 75.1-4, for a review). The erroneous spelling Amblystoma has been used widely, particularly in older literature; this was discussed and corrected by Stejneger (1907, Bulletin of the U. S. National Museum 58: 24). See Lowcock, Licht, and Bogart (1987, Systematic Zoology 36: 328-336) for a discussion of literature and nomenclature of hybrid swarms (e.g., the synonyms Ambystoma platineum and Ambystoma tremblayi).
1.	Data Modified From: Translations of the Scientific Names of the Reptiles and Amphibians of North America, Ellin Beltz.
2.	Data Modified From: Citations for the Original Descriptions of North American Amphibians and Reptiles. SSAR Herpetological Circular 24. Ellin Beltz, 1995.