Mudpuppies and Olms

The family Proteidae is a group of aquatic salamanders found today in the Balkan Peninsula and North America. The range of the genus Necturus (commonly known as waterdogs or mudpuppies) runs from southern central Canada, through the midwestern United States, east to North Carolina and south to Georgia and Mississippi. The range of the olm, the nine members of the genus Proteus, is limited to the Western Balkans. The fossil record of the family extends back to the Late Cretaceous, with Paranecturus being known from the Maastrichtian of North America, and Bishara from the Santonian-Campanian of Central Asia.