The group has become famous due to the study of the axolotl (A. mexicanum) in research on paedomorphosis, and the tiger salamander (A. tigrinum, A. mavortium) which is often sold as a pet, and is the official amphibian of four US states.

Terrestrial mole salamanders are identified by having wide, protruding eyes, prominent costal grooves, and thick arms.

Most have vivid patterning on dark backgrounds, with marks ranging from deep blue spots to large yellow bars depending on the species.

Morphologically, tiger salamanders (Ambystoma tigrinum complex) have large heads, small eyes, and thick bodies.

[3] Whether subpopulations constitute independent species or subspecies within the Ambystoma tigrinum complex, as well as the driving forces behind diversification, remains an active area of research as of 2024.

For example: Unisexual (all-female) populations of ambystomatid salamanders are widely distributed across the Great Lakes region and northeastern North America.

The maternal ancestor of the unisexual ambystomatids was most closely related to the streamside salamander, with the original hybridization likely occurring 2.4~3.9 million years ago,[9] making it the oldest known lineage of all-female vertebrates.

Ambystoma mexicanum, a neotenic salamander with exceptional regenerative capabilities is one of the principal models for studying limb regeneration.

[12] Limb regeneration involves the propagation of a mass of low differentiated and highly proliferative cells termed the blastema.

The stream-type morphology of these salamanders (which includes larvae and neotenes with short gills and thicker gular folds) may have led to their misclassification as a different genus.

The genus name Ambystoma was given by Johann Jakob von Tschudi in 1839,[14] and is traditionally translated as "cup-mouth",[citation needed].

Writing in 1907, Leonhard Stejneger offered a derivation of Ambystoma based on the contraction of a Greek phrase meaning "to cram into the mouth,"[15][16] but others have not found this explanation convincing.