NATURAL HISTORY · CATALOGUE RECORD
Ambystoma amblycephalum Taylor, 1940
Source-backed taxonomic record
Accepted species in Catalogue of Life’s 11 September 2026 base release. This preserves the source classification and available supporting data; it is not a completed species monograph.
Photo of Blunt-headed Salamander uploaded from iNaturalist.
(c) Carlos Martínez, some rights reserved (CC BY) · CC BY 4.0 · Image sourceProvider-generated thumbnail requested at 800 pixels; no local editing Local WebP display rendition; resized without cropping.
Open encyclopedia reference
The blunt-headed salamander (Ambystoma amblycephalum) is a mole salamander endemic to Mexico. It is only known from the vicinity of its type locality, near Morelia, in Michoacán state in Southwestern Mexico. It inhabits a landscape consisting of a mosaic of natural grasslands and pine-oak forests at elevations of about 2,000 m (6,600 ft) asl. Breeding takes place in ponds. An average adult has a mass of 6.18 grams while wet. Adult females of the species range from 42 to 93 mm and males range from 45.4 to 70.5 mm in standard length.
It has both neotenic and terrestrial populations. Neotenic populations are perennibranchiate and retain their fins. Neotenes are very long with extremely short, blunt heads and round eyes. They have relatively short, thick gills. Their coloring is dark brown-gray dorsally, with a lighter gray under-belly. They have small, dark marks on their head and back.
Wikipedia contributors, Blunt-headed salamander; see linked history · CC BY-SA 4.0 . Plain-text lead excerpt, at most 180 words; no infobox or later sections Retrieved 2026-10-05T15:04:45.264543+00:00. This reference remains separate from the taxonomic record.
Identity & source status
- Scientific name
- Ambystoma amblycephalum Taylor, 1940
- Name authority
- Taylor, 1940
- Rank
- species
- Accepted status
- accepted
- Kingdom
- Animalia
- Phylum
- Chordata
- Class
- Amphibia
- Order
- Caudata
- Family
- Ambystomatidae
- Genus
- Ambystoma
- Extinction status
- Recorded extant
Classification family tree
Nested taxonomic groups from the source. This is not a direct-ancestor chain, a dated evolutionary tree or a phylogenetic reconstruction.
- domainEukaryota (Chatton, 1925) Whittaker & Margulis, 1978
- kingdomAnimalia
- phylumChordata
- subphylumVertebrata
- infraphylumGnathostomata
- parvphylumOsteichthyes
- megaclassTetrapoda
- classAmphibia
- orderCaudata
- familyAmbystomatidae Gray, 1850
- genusAmbystoma Tschudi, 1838
- speciesAmbystoma amblycephalum Taylor, 1940
Close classified relatives
These entries share the source’s genus, Ambystoma. They are not necessarily the closest relatives established by molecular evidence.
| Species | Classification | Source status |
|---|---|---|
| Ambystoma ordinarium Taylor, 1940 | AmbystomatidaeChordata | Accepted speciesRecorded extant |
| Ambystoma altamirani Dugès, 1895 | AmbystomatidaeChordata | Accepted speciesRecorded extant |
| Ambystoma andersoni Krebs & Brandon, 1984 | AmbystomatidaeChordata | Accepted speciesRecorded extant |
| Ringed SalamanderAmbystoma annulatum Cope, 1886 | AmbystomatidaeChordata | Accepted speciesRecorded extant |
| Streamside SalamanderAmbystoma barbouri Kraus & Petranka, 1989 | AmbystomatidaeChordata | Accepted speciesRecorded extant |
| Reticulated Flatwoods SalamanderAmbystoma bishopi Goin, 1950 | AmbystomatidaeChordata | Accepted speciesRecorded extant |
| California Tiger SalamanderAmbystoma californiense Gray, 1853 | AmbystomatidaeChordata | Accepted speciesRecorded extant |
| Ambystoma dumerilii (Dugès, 1870) | AmbystomatidaeChordata | Accepted speciesRecorded extant |
| Northwestern SalamanderAmbystoma gracile (Baird, 1859) | AmbystomatidaeChordata | Accepted speciesRecorded extant |
| Lake Lerma SalamanderAmbystoma lermaense (Taylor, 1940) | AmbystomatidaeChordata | Accepted speciesRecorded extant |
| AxolotlAmbystoma mexicanum (Shaw & Nodder, 1798) | AmbystomatidaeChordata | Accepted speciesRecorded extant |
| Ambystoma silvense Webb, 2004 | AmbystomatidaeChordata | Accepted speciesRecorded extant |
Names & synonyms
Names explicitly linked to this accepted taxon in the source. Synonymy can change with revision.
| Recorded name | Source status |
|---|---|
| Ambystoma amblycephala Taylor, 1940 Taylor, 1940 | synonym |
| Ambystoma flavipiperatum Dixon, 1963 Dixon, 1963 | synonym |
Documented distribution
Source distribution statements, not a complete range map. A listed locality is not necessarily a place of origin.
Source literature & publication evidence
References attached to this source record, including nomenclatural citations where supplied. This is a selected bibliography; abbreviated citations remain in the source’s form.
- https://www.itis.gov/servlet/SingleRpt/SingleRpt?search_topic=TSN&search_value=586237 Source fields: Taxon.tsv dwc:namePublishedIn, Taxon.tsv dcterms:references
Origins, evidence & remaining research
Name authority and publication references document nomenclature where the source supplies it. They do not establish evolutionary origins or the earliest fossil occurrence.
Specimen-level evidence, morphology, ecological research, phylogenetic studies, a comprehensive bibliography and a located literary passage have not yet been compiled for this record.
Dataset citation & attribution
This exact taxon in ChecklistBank · Catalogue of Life 2026-09-11
Catalogue of Life 2026-09-11; dataset 316321; doi:10.48580/dgz5n. https://creativecommons.org/licenses/by/4.0/ . Retrieved 5 October 2026.
Stable key: col:CQ3B. Classification follows source parent identifiers. English common names may vary by region.