The mole salamanders (genus Ambystoma) are a group of advanced salamanders endemic to North America. The group has become famous due to the study of the axolotl (A. mexicanum) in research on paedomorphosis, and the tiger salamander (A. tigrinum, A. mavortium) which is often sold as a pet, and is the official amphibian of four US states.

Ambystoma talpoideum, the mole salamander, is a species of salamander found in much of the eastern and central United States, from Florida to Texas, north to Illinois, east to Kentucky, with isolated populations in Virginia and Indiana.

Mole salamanders are subject to predation from other salamanders as well as other aquatic predators. Larval salamander communities are highly structured by predation. Mole salamanders tend to breed later than other species of Ambystoma and are subject to more competition and predation as a result.

Habitat/Range: Mole salamanders range across the coastal plain of the southeastern United States and may be found in isolated populations in North Carolina. They inhabit floodplain forests near swampy areas or upland forests near bodies of water that are used as breeding ponds.

Adult Mole salamanders somewhat resemble Mabee's salamander, but may be easily distinguished from them since Mabee's salamander has 13 costal grooves and a relatively smaller head. The larvae are of the pond type.

Description: Mole Salamanders are mid-sized — 3-4 in (7.5-10 cm) — stout-bodied salamanders with large, flattened heads. They are black, brown, or grey in color with pale bluish or silvery flecks. Males can be distinguished by a swollen cloaca. Larvae and paedomorphic adults are aquatic and have large feathery gills.

The mole salamander is broad-headed, dull gray or brown, with a small body and tail and large limbs. It spends almost all its time below ground. In Missouri, it is restricted to the lowlands of our southeastern counties.