Ambystoma annulatum (Cope, 1886) Ringed Salamander (A.
annulatum gallery)
Physical Description
 Ambystoma annulatum are slender bodied salamanders, with small heads. They are dark gray to black dorsally, with contrasting white or yellowish
bands and broken bands covering the body from the snout to the tip of the tail. The
ventral side varies in color from light gray
to yellowish, with light colored scattered spots. Adults are fossorial, and reach approximately
6-8.5 inches from snout to tip of tail.
There are typically 15 costal grooves.
Newly metamorphosed juveniles are drab green to dark gray dorsally, with grayish-yellow bellies, and a row of
dorsolateral yellowish spots that run from the front limbs to the tip of the tail. Juveniles develop the
distinct blotches, or rings, approximately 2 months after metamorphosis.
Distribution & Natural Habitat
Ambystoma annulatum are found in damp forested areas in or near the Ozark Plateau and Ouachita Mountains
in Arkansas, Missouri, and Oklahoma. A. annulatum specifically inhabit hardwood or mixed hardwood-pine forests in
the Ozark Plateau and Ouachita Mountains of the above mentioned states. Adults are
highy fossorial, and are often
found in subterranean hiding places, such as under leaves and brush, in or under rotting logs, or in abandoned ground
holes created by other animals.
Ambystoma annulatum can be found in damp forested areas, usually found under leaves, rotting logs, or in
abandoned ground holes.
Breeding
Mating occurs in fish-less, shallow waters. A preference for muddy, or murky bodies of water has been observed.
Adults migrate to breeding areas after the first heavy rains of the season, in mid September through November
(the exact times vary with different habitats).
Courtship consists of the male nudging the females cloaca, and then depositing a spermatophore a few
centimeters away. While the male may repeat this process several times, the female will remain uninterested
during courtship, and will only pick up a spermatophore after being actively courted.
One to Two days after mating, the female will deposit between 5 and 40 eggs in small masses or
strings to submerged vegetation. The eggs are approximately 2mm in diameter, and will hatch after 9-16 days,
depending on the location of the species.
Aquatic larval specimens usually begin metamorphosis the following February through May, and
occasionally earlier or later. Upon metamorphosis, the juvenile salamanders are approximately 35-40mm, and
will begin emerging onto land to seek out underground homes. Juveniles become sexually mature in the second or third year of
life.
Misc. Notes
Phillips et al. (2000) documented a lack of mtDNA variation in the northern
Ozark populations of this salamander. They attributed this to recent (post-Hypsithermal)
colonization of the area from the south (Nature Serve Explorer).
References
Behler, John L., and F. Wayne King. National Audubon Society Field Guide to North American Reptiles and Amphibians.
New York: Knopf, 1979, 1996.
Center for North American Herpetology. (2003).
http://www.cnah.org/
(Accessed: 2000).
Frost, Darrel & AMNH. Amphibian Species of the World 3.0, an Online
Reference. American Museum of Natural History.
http://research.amnh.org/herpetology/amphibia/index.php.
(Accessed: 2004).
Nature Serve Explorer (Database). Nature Serve.
http://www.natureserve.org/explorer/index.htm
(Accessed: 2000-2003).
Obst, Fritz Jugen, Udo Jacob, and K. Richter. Completely Illustrated Atlas of Reptiles and Amphibians for the Terrarium.
Neptune City, NY: T.F.H. Publications, Inc., 1989.
Petranka, James W. Salamanders of the United States and Canada. Smithsonian Institution Press, 1998.
Phillips, C.A., G. Suau, and A.R. Templeton. 2000. Effects of Holocene
climate fluctuations on mitochondrial DNA variation in the ringed salamander,
Ambystoma annulatum. Copeia 2000: 542-545.
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