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Gulf Coast waterdog

Necturus beyeri · Salamanders and newts · Amphibians

Gulf Coast waterdog (Necturus beyeri): Aquatic salamander 6.25-8.75 in long; dark brown ground colour with tan spots joining into a net-like pattern. Some have a dark stripe through the eye; juveniles lighter with small dull yellow spots. This profile does not establish whether taking it is legal anywhere.

Check rules for a place and date

Certified rules currently represented in Hunt: coverage in development. This is coverage, not a legal answer.

Scientific name
Necturus beyeri
Family
Proteidae
In North America
Native
Range
Gulf Coast drainages: western lineage from west-central Louisiana to northeastern and eastern Texas; other lineages from southeastern Louisiana to northeastern Mississippi and Alabama (Mobile Bay drainage).
Biology

How to identify it

Aquatic salamander 6.25-8.75 in long; dark brown ground colour with tan spots joining into a net-like pattern. [1][2]

Some have a dark stripe through the eye; juveniles lighter with small dull yellow spots. [1][2]

Four toes on all four feet. [1][2]

Field knowledge

Where it lives

Sandy, spring-fed streams, also large rivers and standing backwater. [1][2]

Field knowledge

How it behaves

Opportunistic feeder on fish, eggs, crayfish, mollusks and worms. [1][2]

Courtship in fall and winter in other parts of the range; eggs laid April-June under debris on the bottom. [1][2]

Regulatory handoff

Limited legal take

Legal take of this species exists only under narrow conditions — a quota, a draw, a permit, a small area, or animals released or held on private land — set by the authorities below. Nowhere else is a legal opportunity implied, and Hunt shows one only where a certified rule establishes it.

Where legal take is listed

Being listed is not an open season. Seasons, zones, licences, methods and limits decide whether this animal may be taken on a given day and place — check Hunt or the authority before you go. Listings read 2026-09-30.

Geospatial intelligence

Where it is found

Gulf Coast drainages: western lineage from west-central Louisiana to northeastern and eastern Texas; other lineages from southeastern Louisiana to northeastern Mississippi and Alabama (Mobile Bay drainage).

Biology

Sources

Every claim above is attributed to one of these published sources.

  1. NatureServe · reviewed 2026-09-30

    NatureServe

  2. Outdoor Alabama (Alabama Department of Conservation and Natural Resources) · reviewed 2026-09-30

    Outdoor Alabama (Alabama Department of Conservation and Natural Resources)