Mudpuppies of Cook County, Illinois

Common Mudpuppy: PC Tristan Schramer

Date:
April 4th 2015

Species Found:

1. Common Mudpuppy (Necturus maculosus)

The Trip:

Tristan had heard about Alicia who was doing research on mudpuppies in a lake in Cook County and reached out to her. A mudpuppy is an aquatic salamander that can grow up to 13 inches long. We were all invited to help out with the research, so one weekend we made the 3 hour journey to Cook County. We got to the research site and found a single medium sized mudpuppy in a bucket at the bank of the lake. It was brown and had bright red external gills that were constantly moving.

Common Mudpuppy: PC Tristan Schramer

Common Mudpuppy: PC Tristan Schramer

We met Alicia and she hooked us up with waders and nets to help her check the traps for mudpuppies. The traps were basic minnow traps, tied about 7 feet from the shore, baited with dead fish in small bags. We managed to get 2 more large mudpuppies in the traps and started looking for them under rocks in the water. Sadly, we didn't find any when we searched by hand. It was then time to process the captured mudpuppies. We took the 3 mudpuppies to Alicia's work station and helped her take measurements. We first measured the length of the mudpuppy by putting it into a tube with a ruler on it. Getting the animal to fully extend its body and tail was a real challenge. Alicia also took a blood sample from the tail with a syringe. She then took a skin sample by clipping off a small section of the tail.

Getting Ready to Process the Mudpuppies: PC Tristan Schramer

Measuring Length: PC Tristan Schramer

Taking a Blood Sample: PC Tristan Schramer

Clipping Tail: PC Tristan Schramer

The next measurement we took was weight. Alicia put the mudpuppy into a plastic bag and used a spring balance to weigh it. After that, we pumped water into the mudpuppy's mouth to make it regurgitate its stomach contents. This was done to see exactly what these mudpuppies were eating. 2 of the mudpuppies had just little copepods and arthropods in their stomachs but the last one had 3 fish as well: a minnow, a bluegill and a sunfish.

Pumping Water into Mudpuppy: PC Tristan Schramer

Stomach Contents: PC Tristan Schramer

Then, Alicia swabbed the mudpuppy with a cotton swab to check for chytrid fungus or other diseases. She also marked the mudpuppy by clipping a few of its toes. This is done so that in case she catches it again, she knows which individual it is.

Swabbing for Chytrid: PC Tristan Schramer

Swabbing for Chytrid: PC Tristan Schramer

After processing all 3 mudpuppies we released them back at the sites at which they were caught. Tristan took this opportunity to photograph the mudpuppies underwater with his waterproof camera case.

Common Mudpuppy Underwater: PC Tristan Schramer

Common Mudpuppy Underwater: PC Tristan Schramer

Common Mudpuppy Underwater: PC Tristan Schramer

Common Mudpuppy Underwater: PC Tristan Schramer

External Gills: PC Tristan Schramer

The common mudpuppy was a new species for me and my American Herp List now stood at 46 species. Being a part of this research was an extraordinary experience and I definitely learned a lot too.