ambystomid

[am-bis-tuh-mid]

noun

1. Also called mole salamander. any of various small- to moderate-sized salamanders of the genus Ambystoma, terrestrial or semiaquatic, inhabiting North America from New England to Florida and westward to Texas.

adjective

1. of or relating to the ambystomids.

Word History and Origins

Origin of ambystomid¹

1940–45; < New Latin Ambystom ( a ) genus name ( amby-, probably erroneous for Greek amblý ( s ) blunt, dull + -stoma -stome ) + -id ²

Example Sentences

Nevertheless, in the ancestry of Anura, and that of at least the Hynobiid, Ambystomid, Salamandrid and Plethodontid salamanders, there must certainly have been a terrestrial adult, transforming from an aquatic larva.

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