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CAUDATA Family Ambystomatidae Ambystoma annulatum Cope, 1886 RINGED SALAMANDER Stanley E. Trauth 1. Historical versus Current Distribution. Ringed salamanders (Ambystoma annulatum ) are endemic to the Interior Highlands (Ozark and Ouachita mountains) in Arkansas, Missouri, and Oklahoma (Anderson , 1950; Smith, 1950; Dowling, 1956, 1957; Anderson, 1965; McDaniel, 1975; Funk, 1979; Minter, 1979; Schuette, 1980; Trauth, 1980; Johnson, 1987; Turnipseed and Altig, 1991). No specimens have been reported from the Ozark Plateau of Kansas (Collins, 1993). There are no data to suggest that the current distribution differs from the pre-settlement distribution. Phillips et al. (2000) note that populations in the northeastern portion of the range (central Missouri) have less variable mitochondrial DNA components than populations to the southwest (southern Missouri, northwestern Arkansas, and eastern Oklahoma ). This suggests that northern populations have been established more recently, perhaps with reforestation following the warm and dry Hypsithermal in Arkansas). The first record reported in Oklahoma was a single specimen (Firschein and Miller, 1951). Spotila and Beumer (1970) observed 46 salamanders crossing a highway on 18 October 1966 near Fayetteville (Washington County), Arkansas, and observed 155 adults over a 3-yr period (1965–67). Several hundred ringed salamanders were counted by McDaniel and Saugey (1977) crossing a highway on 22 October 1976 near Blanchard Springs Caverns (Stone County, Arkansas). During a salamander sting operation conducted by the Arkansas Game and Fish Commission (Arkansas Democrat , 22 October 1987), a poacher was arrested while attempting to sell about 1,060 specimens for fish bait in Hot Springs, Arkansas. Peterson et al. (1991) estimated the number of females ovipositing in each of two ponds (Stone County, Missouri) to be between 150–230 individuals , whereas Peterson et al. (1992) captured 230 males and 237 females in one of these ponds using pit fall traps. In a recent study, Briggler et al. (1999) found 1,096 specimens migrating across a highway to a single pond in northwestern Arkansas from 22 September–14 November 1998. Trauth (2000) found 17 specimens in a woodland pond in the Ozark National salamanders in the Ozark National Forest of north-central Arkansas (Trauth, 2000). Adults are stimulated to migrate by medium to heavy rains, cool temperatures , and nighttime conditions. They travel to fishless, woodland ponds to breed; however, farm ponds (heavily used by livestock) in open pastures may also be utilized (Brussock and Brown, 1982). Hundreds of adults may be present during a single breeding episode, which normally lasts several days. Males apparently arrive before females (Spotila and Beumer, 1970). Each gravid female may be courted by 2–25 males. Males may also deposit spermatophores with or without attendant females (Spotila, 1976). Egg laying begins shortly after courtship and can last for 2 d (Johnson, 1987; Conant and Collins, 1998). ii. Breeding habitat. Fishless woodland ponds as well as livestock ponds are suitable breeding sites for ringed salamanders (Brussock and Brown, 1982; Johnson, 1987). B. Eggs. i. Egg deposition sites. Eggs are laid on submerged branches, aquatic plant stems, or on the pond bottom in loose masses (Anderson, 1965; Spotila and Beumer, 1970; Johnson, 1987). An observation of terrestrial egg laying in March as reported by Strecker (1908a) has been discounted as being erroneous (see Trauth et al., 1989c; Peterson et al., 1992). Each female either lays one or two large clusters of eggs with 75–150 eggs/cluster (Johnson, 1987) or lays several smaller clusters of from 4–31 or 2–17 eggs (Trapp, 1956). ii. Clutch size. Average clutch size is estimated to range from 205–390 eggs/ female (Trauth, 2000; Peterson et al., 1992, respectively). Eggs hatch in 2–3 wk, depending on water temperature (Johnson, 1987). C. Larvae/Metamorphosis. Larvae hatch at 12–15 mm SVL. Coloration in newly metamorphosed individuals is olive to black dorsally and grayish white ventrally (Hutcherson et al., 1989) with a fairly broad pigment-free band on the sides of the trunk (Bishop, 1943). i. Length of larval stage. Larvae remain in the ponds throughout the winter and metamorphose the following summer. The length of the larval period varies from ⬃6–8.5 mo (Hutcherson et al., 1989). ii. Larval requirements. a. Food. Small larvae feed on cladocerans , copepods, and dipteran larvae, whereas older larvae primarily consume dipteran larvae; additional prey items included ostracods, hemipterans, snails, and dragonfly and damselfly naiads (Hutcherson et al., 1989). Trapp (1959) mentions cladocerans and Chironomus sp. (Diptera) as the major components of their diet. Cannibalistic larvae are facultative and will consume the same array of invertebrate food items as non...

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