Mudpuppies or waterdogs are aquatic salamanders of the family Proteidae. Their name originates from the misconception that they make a dog-like barking sound. The range of the genus Necturus 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 only extant member of the genus Proteus, is limited to the Western Balkans.