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. This species of salamander has slander body, small head, and long tail. They are usually found to have various dorsal color from dark gray to dark brown. Various close relatives are found such as marbled salamander (A. opacum) and spotted salamander (A. maculatum). This species of salamander has cannibal behavior especially those in large body size.
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. This salamander is increasingly rare and perhaps endangered. This is likely a result of its restricted range and specific breeding habit needs. The world population is thought to be around 100,000 animals. Its conservation status is assessed as Least Concern by the IUCN. This salamander can perform embryotic learning and social-facilitated learning.
Description
The Ringed Salamander has a slender body shape with a small head and a long tail. This species has 15 costal (along the ribs) grooves and a depressed round snout. There are two arrays of vomerine teeth—teeth along a thin bone that form the inferior and posterior part of the nasal septum and divide the nostrils. Each series contains 7 - 11 teeth. Each of their hind feet has five toes. The dorsal color of adults can range from dark gray to blackish brown decorated with white to yellowish bands and light-colored dots. Ventral sides are generally grayish-yellow. Newly metamorphosed juveniles have black backs and white bellies. A row of light spots extended from their forelimbs to the tails. Soon after metamorphosis yellow bands started to appear, and complete adult colorations form within two months after metamorphosis.
Habitat and distribution
Habitat
Ringed salamander is strictly terrestrial and has been found in hardwood and mixed hardwood-pine forests. During non-breeding seasons, adults hide under leaves, rotting logs, or abandoned holes on the ground in damp forest areas. Larvae and juveniles exist in small, fishless semi-permanent ponds. Most ringed salamanders are found in the vicinity of Hot Springs, Arkansas, and the Missouri portion of the Ozark Plateau. Small populations have also been found in western Illinois and eastern Oklahoma.
Geographic distribution
Ringed salamander is endemic to the Ozark plateau and the Ouachita Mountains of southern Missouri, Arkansas, and eastern Oklahoma. This is a much more restricted range of distribution compared to other species in the same genus, such as A. maculatum and A. opacum.
Conservation
Habitat loss
While drying of ponds during late summer has significant impacts on spring breeding species such as spotted salamanders, it does not affect ringed salamanders much. However, a reduction of rain and numbers of filling ponds during September and October can cause a great decrease in ringed salamander's breeding efforts and egg depositions. Although average canopy cover and leaf litter depth do not significantly relate to ringed salamander's occupancy, continuous forests are highly associated with its breeding wetlands. Clear-cut timber harvest also has a negative effect on ringed salamander distribution. Forest sites after a clear-cut harvest have more open canopies, which results in higher ground temperatures. In order to survive, ringed salamanders either retreat underground into burrows or move to other places. Thus, juveniles and adults with small body sizes are more vulnerable as they have lower dispersal abilities.
Conservation efforts
There are two major areas of focus for maximizing the proliferation of ringed salamanders, which concentrate on minimizing the local extinction of both juveniles and adults and maintaining metapopulation dynamics respectively. Protecting permanent fishless ponds is crucial for the survival of metamorphosing juveniles. Maintaining terrestrial habitat around the breeding ponds is important for reproducing adults. A study has shown that a core terrestrial habitat with a radius of 200-500m from the pond edge must be established to provide enough space for the survival of breeding adults, especially during their first reproduction. Connectivity between ponds is critical for keeping sufficient gene flows among multiple populations. A suitable habitat should have breeding ponds no more than 300m from each other, and rescue-recolonization management is recommended.