The mole salamanders are a group of salamander

Salamander

Salamander is a common name of approximately 500 species of amphibians. They are typically characterized by a superficially lizard-like appearance, with their slender bodies, short noses, and long tails. All known fossils and extinct species fall under the order Caudata, while sometimes the extant...

s endemic to North America

North America

North America is a continent wholly within the Northern Hemisphere and almost wholly within the Western Hemisphere. It is also considered a northern subcontinent of the Americas...

, the only genus in the family Ambystomatidae. The group has become famous due to the presence of the Axolotl

Axolotl

The axolotl , Ambystoma mexicanum, is a neotenic salamander, closely related to the Tiger Salamander. Larvae of this species fail to undergo metamorphosis, so the adults remain aquatic and gilled. It is also called ajolote...

 (Ambystoma mexicanum), widely used in research, and the Tiger Salamander

Tiger Salamander

The Tiger Salamander is a species of Mole Salamander. The proper common name is the Eastern Tiger Salamander, to differentiate from other closely related species.-Description:...

 (Ambystoma tigrinum, Ambystoma mavortium) which is the official amphibian of many states, and often sold as a pet.
Terrestrial

Terrestrial animal

Terrestrial animals are animals that live predominantly or entirely on land , as compared with aquatic animals, which live predominantly or entirely in the water , or amphibians, which rely on a combination of aquatic and terrestrial habitats...

 mole salamanders are identified by having wide, protruding eyes, prominent costal groove

Costal groove

The Costal groove is a groove between the ridge of the internal surface of the rib and the inferior border. It contains the intercostal vessels and intercostal nerve....

s, thick arms, and rounded tails.