Final answer:
The Eastern Mud Salamander is a species of salamander with a typical slender body, short legs, and a long tail, living in moist environments like swamps. It breathes through its skin, and its population is affected by human activities such as the bait trade, impacting their natural distribution and health.
Step-by-step explanation:
The Eastern Mud Salamander (Pseudotriton montanus montanus) is an amphibian closely related to other salamander species within the order Urodela. These animals often exhibit a slender body, short legs, a long tail, and moist skin, which are typical characteristics of a salamander. They are part of a diverse group that includes giant salamanders, like the hellbender and Asiatic salamanders, advanced salamanders, which are mostly lungless salamanders, mudpuppies, and newts, and sirens that retain both lungs and gills without fully developing beyond their larval stage.
Eastern Mud Salamanders are known to live on moist ground often in a swampy environment, and like many salamanders, they breathe through their skin or use external gills in aquatic habitats. Although some salamanders have primitive lungs, the majority of them are lungless. The Eastern Mud Salamander is part of a natural eco-system that includes a variety of habitats such as wetlands, forest floors, and even caves, adapting uniquely to each environment. In some cases, their adaptations include reduced eyes and pale skin when inhabiting dark underground pools, as seen with cave-dwelling species.
Salamanders, including the Eastern Mud Salamander, are impacted by human activities such as the bait trade, which can contribute to the spread of diseases like ranavirus and chytrid fungus, as well as causing relocation and population changes due to collection and release into non-native habitats.