Editing Amphiuma (section)

== Behavior ==
During the day, amphiumas hide in vegetation, and at night they become active hunters. Their prey includes [[frog]]s, [[snake]]s, [[fish]], [[crustacean]]s, [[insect]]s and even other amphiumas. Hunting and eating habits have been observed to be very similar to that of the [[axolotl]], including the sucking in of food by their stomachs with vacuum force. If provoked, they can become aggressive. They can be found in most wetlands in the coastal plain of the southeastern U.S., even ones which periodically dry out, as they are able to [[estivate]] in the moist mud below drained marshland and other [[ephemeral]] wetlands. Amphiumas are rarely encountered on land.

It is the female that courts the male before mating. When a pair is formed they wrap their bodies around each other, and the male will transfer a spermatophore directly into the female cloaca (cloacal apposition).<ref>[https://lucec.loyno.edu/natural-history-writings/amphiuma-or-congo-eel Amphiuma, or Congo Eel]</ref>

=== Food habits ===
The amphiuma's predatory behaviors and food selection are very calculated and variable depending on abundance of food. In addition to eating [[frog]]s, [[snake]]s, [[fish]], [[crustacean]]s, [[insect]]s, and other amphiuma, amphiuma have been found to eat [[annelid]]s, [[vegetable]]s, [[arachnid]]s, [[mollusca]], and [[larva]]e.<ref name="Taylor and Ludlam 2013">{{Cite journal |last1=Taylor |first1=Harrison |last2=Ludlam |first2=John P. |date=2013 |title=The role of size preference in prey selection of ''Amphiuma means'' |journal=BIOS |volume=84 |issue=1 |pages=8–13|doi=10.1893/0005-3155-84.1.8 |jstor=23595338 |s2cid=97908296 }}</ref> Amphiuma seem to have a preference for eating [[crawfish]]. It has been documented that amphiuma will pass on smaller crawfish in order to consume larger ones.<ref>{{Cite journal |last=Chaney |first=Allan H. |date=1951 |title=The food habits of the salamander ''Amphiuma tridactylum'' |jstor=1438050 |journal=Copeia |volume=1951 |issue=1 |pages=45–49 |doi=10.2307/1438050}}</ref> It is suggested that this limits wasting energy in pursuing prey with less caloric density. In captivity, the predatory behavior amphiuma display depends on the presence or lack of food. Amphiuma will remain inactive when food is absent, and will become more active once food has been introduced into their habitat.<ref name="Taylor and Ludlam 2013"/> This shows that the amphiuma, although ancestral to many [[amphibia]], has developed a deductive approach to its predation.{{Citation needed|date=December 2024}}