Ringed salamander

The ringed salamander (Ambystoma annulatum) is a species of mole salamander native to hardwood and mixed hardwood-pine forested areas in and around the Ozark Plateau and Ouachita Mountains of Arkansas, Oklahoma, and Missouri.[2] Most specimens are found in the vicinity of Hot Springs, Arkansas, and the Missouri portion of the Ozark Plateau.[3][4] Small populations have also been found in western Illinois and eastern Oklahoma.[2]

Ringed salamander
Scientific classification
Kingdom: Animalia
Phylum: Chordata
Class: Amphibia
Order: Urodela
Family: Ambystomatidae
Genus: Ambystoma
Species:
A. annulatum
Binomial name
Ambystoma annulatum
Cope, 1886
Ringed salamander distribution
Synonyms
  • Linguaelapsus annulatum (Cope, 1887)

It is found in damp, forested areas, usually under leaves, rotting logs, or in abandoned ground holes of other organisms, near shallow ponds. Highly fossorial (adapted to digging), adults are often found in subterranean refuges.[2] This salamander is increasingly rare and perhaps endangered, likely a result of its restricted range and specific breeding habit needs.[2] The world population is thought to be around 100,000 animals. Its conservation status is assessed as Least Concern by the IUCN.[1]

References
  1. IUCN SSC Amphibian Specialist Group (2014). "Ambystoma annulatum". The IUCN Red List of Threatened Species. IUCN. 2014: e.T59052A56219662. doi:10.2305/IUCN.UK.2014-1.RLTS.T59052A56219662.en. Retrieved 4 January 2018.
  2. Petranka, James W. (2010). Salamanders of the United States and Canada. Washington, D.C.: Smithsonian Institution Press. ISBN 9781588343086.
  3. Bishop, Sherman C. (1962). Handbook of Salamanders. New York: Hafner Publishing Company.
  4. T., T. (1977). The Amphibians of Missouri. Lawrence, KS: University of Kansas Publications.
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