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Ambystoma annulatum

Cope, 1886

Ringed Salamander

G4Apparently Secure Found in 1 roadless area NatureServe Explorer →
G4Apparently SecureGlobal Rank
Least concernIUCN
MediumThreat Impact
Identity
Unique IDELEMENT_GLOBAL.2.104324
Element CodeAAAAA01010
Record TypeSPECIES
ClassificationSpecies
Classification StatusStandard
Name CategoryVertebrate Animal
IUCNLeast concern
Endemicendemic to a single nation
KingdomAnimalia
PhylumCraniata
ClassAmphibia
OrderCaudata
FamilyAmbystomatidae
GenusAmbystoma
Concept Reference
Frost, D. R. 1985. Amphibian species of the world. A taxonomic and geographical reference. Allen Press, Inc., and The Association of Systematics Collections, Lawrence, Kansas. v + 732 pp.
Taxonomic Comments
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.

See Kraus (1988), Shaffer et al. (1991), and Jones et al. (1993) for phylogenetic analyses of North American Ambystoma.
Conservation Status
Rank Method Rank calculation - Biotics v2
Review Date2025-05-11
Change Date2001-12-14
Edition Date2025-05-11
Edition AuthorsGundy, R. L. (2025)
Threat ImpactMedium
Range Extent20,000-200,000 square km (about 8000-80,000 square miles)
Number of Occurrences81 - 300
Rank Reasons
This species has a restricted distribution in the Ozark Plateau and Ouachita Mountains. It is threatened by habitat loss, habitat degradation, and introduction of predatory fishes to breeding ponds.
Range Extent Comments
This species is restricted to the Ozark Plateau and Ouachita Mountains of southern Missouri, eastern Oklahoma, and western Arkansas in the United States (Conant and Collins 1991). Using Global Biodiversity Information Facility (GBIF) (2025) records from 2000-2025, range extent is estimated to be 110,391 km² (RARECAT 2025).
Occurrences Comments
Applying a 3 km separation distance to GBIF (2025) records from 2000-2025, 155 occurrences are estimated (RARECAT 2025).
Threat Impact Comments
This species is threatened by habitat loss, habitat degradation, and predation by both native and non-native fishes introduced to ponds that naturally do not host fish (Conant and Collins 1991, Drake et al. 2014, Crawford et al. 2017, Burkhart et al. 2019, Messerman 2019).
Ecology & Habitat

Habitat

Found in forested areas in vicinity of breeding pools; usually under objects or underground. Lays eggs on submerged plant material or on bottom of shallow ponds or temporary pools. Some eggs may survive temporary periods without standing water (Hutcherson et al. 1989).

Reproduction

Brief breeding period occurs after heavy late summer to early fall rains, September-November in Missouri; also recorded in winter in Arkansas (Trauth et al. 1989). Lays small loose clusters of up to about 50 eggs; each female may lay several clusters of eggs, for a total of a few hundred eggs. Eggs hatch in about 2-4 weeks. Larval period lasts 6-8.5 months; metamorphosis occurs in mid-April (Peterson et al. 1991) or May to early July, depending on conditions (mostly in May). Several hundred (Peterson et al. 1992) or several thousand (Briggler et al. 2004) adults may breed in a single pond.
Terrestrial Habitats
Forest - HardwoodWoodland - Hardwood
Palustrine Habitats
TEMPORARY POOL
Other Nations (1)
United StatesN4
ProvinceRankNative
MissouriS3Yes
OklahomaS2Yes
ArkansasS3Yes
Threat Assessments
ThreatScopeSeverityTiming
1 - Residential & commercial developmentRestricted - smallModerate or 11-30% pop. declineHigh (continuing)
1.1 - Housing & urban areasRestricted (11-30%)Moderate - slightHigh (continuing)
1.2 - Commercial & industrial areasSmall (1-10%)Extreme - seriousHigh (continuing)
2 - Agriculture & aquacultureSmall (1-10%)Serious - moderateHigh (continuing)
2.2 - Wood & pulp plantationsSmall (1-10%)Serious - moderateHigh (continuing)
4 - Transportation & service corridorsRestricted - smallModerate - slightHigh (continuing)
4.1 - Roads & railroadsRestricted - smallModerate - slightHigh (continuing)
5 - Biological resource useRestricted - smallModerate - slightHigh (continuing)
5.3 - Logging & wood harvestingRestricted - smallModerate - slightHigh (continuing)
8 - Invasive & other problematic species, genes & diseasesSmall (1-10%)Serious or 31-70% pop. declineHigh (continuing)
8.1 - Invasive non-native/alien species/diseasesSmall (1-10%)Serious or 31-70% pop. declineHigh (continuing)

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Roadless Areas (1)
Arkansas (1)
AreaForestAcres
Little BlakelyOuachita National Forest3,342
References (26)
  1. Anderson, J.D. 1965. Ambystoma annulatum. Catalogue of American Amphibians and Reptiles. 19:1-2.
  2. Behler, J. L., and F. W. King. 1979. The Audubon Society field guide to North American reptiles and amphibians. Alfred A. Knopf, New York. 719 pp.
  3. Bishop, S. C. 1943. Handbook of salamanders. Comstock Publishing Company, Inc., Ithaca, New York. xiv + 555 pp.
  4. Blackburn, L., P. Nanjappa, and M. J. Lannoo. 2001. An Atlas of the Distribution of U.S. Amphibians. Copyright, Ball State University, Muncie, Indiana, USA.
  5. Briggler, J. T., J. E. Johnson, and D. D. Rambo. 2004. Demographics of a ringed salamander (<i>Ambystoma annulatum</i>) breeding migration. Southwestern Naturalist 49:209-217.
  6. Burkhart, J. J., E. E. Puckett, C. J. Beringer, C. N. Sholy, R. D. Semlitsch, and L. S. Eggert. 2019. Post-Pleistocene differentiation in a Central Interior Highlands endemic salamander. Ecology and Evolution 2019: 1–14.
  7. Conant, R. 1975. A Field Guide to Reptiles and Amphibians of Eastern and Central North America. Second Edition. Houghton Mifflin Company, Boston, Massachusetts. xvii + 429 pp.
  8. Conant, R. and J. T. Collins. 1991. A field guide to reptiles and amphibians: eastern and central North America. Third edition. Houghton Mifflin Co., Boston, Massachusetts. 450 pp.
  9. Crawford, J.A., J. A. Tunnage, and E. M. Wright. 2017. Breeding pond occupancy of the ringed salamander (Ambystoma annulatum) in East-Central Missouri. The American Midland Naturalist 178(1): 151-157.
  10. Crother, B. I. (editor). 2017. Scientific and standard English names of amphibians and reptiles of North America north of Mexico, with comments regarding confidence in our understanding. 8th edition. SSAR Herpetological Circular 43:1-104. [Updates in SSAR North American Species Names Database at: https://ssarherps.org/cndb]
  11. Drake, D. L., T. L. Anderson, L. M. Smith, K. M. Lohraff, and R. D Semlitsch. 2015. Predation of eggs and recently hatched larvae of endemic ringed salamanders (<i>Ambystoma annulatum</i>) by native and introduced aquatic predators. Herpetologica 70(4): 378-387.
  12. Frost, D. R. 1985. Amphibian species of the world. A taxonomic and geographical reference. Allen Press, Inc., and The Association of Systematics Collections, Lawrence, Kansas. v + 732 pp.
  13. Frost, D.R. 2020. Amphibian Species of the World: an Online Reference. Version 6.0. American Museum of Natural History, New York, USA. Online: http://research.amnh.org/herpetology/amphibia/index.html
  14. Global Biodiversity Information Facility (GBIF). 2025. Global Biodiversity Information Facility (GBIF) data portal. Online. Available: https://www.gbif.org/ (accessed 2025).
  15. Hutcherson, J. E., C. L. Peterson, and R. F. Wilkinson. 1989. Reproductive and larval biology of <i>Ambystoma annulatum</i>. Journal of Herpetology 23:181-183.
  16. Johnson, T.R. 1977. The Amphibians of Missouri. University of Kansas Museum of Natural History, Public Education Series 6: ix + 134 pp.
  17. Jones, T. R., A. G. Kluge, and A. J. Wolf. 1993. When theories and methodologies clash: a phylogenetic reanalysis of the North American ambystomatid salamanders (Caudata: Ambystomatidae). Systematic Biology 42:92-102.
  18. Kraus, F. 1988. An empirical evaluation of the use of the ontogeny polarization criterion in phylogenetic inference. Systematic Zoology 37:106-141.
  19. Messerman, A. F. 2019. Tales of an 'invisible' life stage: survival and physiology among terrestrial juvenile ambystomatid salamanders. M.S. thesis. University of Missouri-Columbia, Columbia, MO. 254 pp.
  20. Peterson, C.L., D. Moll, and T. Holder. 1991. Premetamorphic survival of <i>Ambystoma annulatum</i>. Herpetologica. 47:96-100.
  21. Peterson, C.L., R.F. Wilkinson, D. Moll., and T. Holder. 1992. Estimating the number of female <i>Ambystoma annulatum</i> (Caudata: Ambystomatidae) based on oviposition. Southwestern Naturalist 37(4):425-426.
  22. Petranka, J. W. 1998. Salamanders of the United States and Canada. Smithsonian Institution Press, Washington, D.C.
  23. Phillips, C. A., G. Suau, and A. R. Templeton. 2000. Effects of Holocene climate fluctuation on mitochondrial DNA variation in the ringed salamander, <i>Ambystoma annulatum</i>. Copeia 2000:542-545.
  24. <p>NatureServe's Rapid Analysis of Rarity and Endangerment Conservation Assessment Tool (RARECAT). 2025. Version: 2.1.1 (released April 04, 2025).</p>
  25. Shaffer, H. B., J. M. Clark, and F. Kraus. 1991. When molecules and morphology clash: a phylogenetic analysis of the North American ambystomatid salamanders (Caudata: Ambystomatidae). Systematic Zoology 40:284-303.
  26. Trauth, S. E., M. E. Cartwright, and W. E. Meshaka. 1989. Winter breeding in the ringed salamander, <i>Ambystoma annulatum</i> (Caudata: Ambystomatidae), from Arkansas. Southwestern Naturalist 34:145-146.