Official State Amphibian of Colorado
The Western tiger salamander (Ambystoma mavortium) was designated the official state amphibian of Colorado in 2012 (Illinois and Kansas also recognize tiger salamander as an official symbol). All State Amphibians
A large amphibian that can grow to 14 inches, the western (or barred) tiger salamander can be found in the wild from southwestern Canada through the western United States to northern Mexico.
Barred tiger salamanders are primarily nocturnal. They are opportunistic feeders eating anything they can catch, including various insects, slugs, and earthworms. Tiger Salamanders inhabit areas near bodies of water, including damp forest areas, pine barrens, and arid plains, where the soil is easily burrowed. Tiger Salamanders are also known to occupy abandoned mammal and invertebrate burrows. They are primarily terrestrial as adults, but their juvenile larval stage is entirely aquatic, having external gills.
