that the group was composed of 2.2 adults is correct, then two females are capable of producing at least 61, and possibly more, NATURAL HISTORY NOTES offspring in a single breeding season Hatchlings are capable of attaining near adult size in less than a The Natural History Notes section is analogous to Geographic Distri- year (Fig. 1). Growth rates of the sirens maintained indoors at a bution. Preferred notes should 1) focus on observations with little human intrusion; 2) represent more than the isolated documentation of develop- relatively constant temperature of 25-27°C were greater than those mental aberrations; and 3) possess a natural history perspective. Indi- maintained outdoors and subjected to seasonal fluctuations in tem- vidual notes should, with few exceptions, concern only one species, and perature. As far as we could determine, the density of hatchlings authors are requested to choose a keyword or short phrase which best per enclosure had little effect on growth and mortality as long as describes the nature of their note (e.g., Reproduction, Morphology, Habi- there was adequate supplemental feeding. tat, etc.). Use of figures to illustrate any data is encouraged, but should Wild-caught Pseudobranchus s. striatus collected as juveniles replace words rather than embellish them. The section's intent is to con- reproduced in their fourth year. Captive conditions in earlier years vey information rather than demonstrate prose. Articles submitted to this might not have provided appropriate stimulus for reproduction. section will be reviewed and edited prior to acceptance. Send two copies Nevertheless, F, offspring kept under identical conditions to those of manuscripts, double-spaced, directly to the appropriate section co-edi- tor (addresses on inside front cover): Marc P. Hayes (lizards, under which the adults bred had not yet reproduced by their third amphisbaenians, crocodilians, Sphenodon); Charles W. Painter (amphib- year. Two of the six original, wild-caught sirens, presumed to be ians); or Brian Butterfield (snakes, turtles). Authors are requested to in- 1.1, were continually housed indoors in a transparent plastic clude a 3.5-inch disk containing pertinent files along with hard copy sub- aquaria. To facilitate observation, the aquaria were maintained with missions. Indicate disk format (e.g., Macintosh, Windows), word proces- clear water, few plants, and only a gravel substrate. Although this sor name and version used to create the manuscript file, and include a arrangement apparently did not compromise husbandry, no at- Rich Text Format (RTF) version of the file. Alternatively, authors may tempts at reproduction were ever observed. The oviposistion pe- submit manuscripts electronically, as e-mail attachments. Figures can also riod for P. striatus was mid-June through August. The oviposition be submitted electronically as JPG files, although higher-resolution TIFF files may be requested for publication. period for wild P axanthus is reported to last from early Novem- Standard format for this section is as follows: SCIENTIFIC NAME, ber through March (Petranka 1998). The maximum length attained COMMON NAME (for the United States and Canada as it appears in by a captive-raised P. striatus is 230 mm TL, slightly exceeding Crother (2000. Scientific and Standard English Names of Amphibians the published maximum length of 220 mm (Petranka 1998). No and Reptiles of North America North of Mexico, with Comments Regard- published data regarding longevity of Pseudobranchus could be ing Confidence in Our Understanding. Herpetol. Circ. 29:1-82); for found. At RZG, two captive-raised P. s. striatus are seven years Mexico as it appears in Liner (1994, Scientific and Common Names for old at the time of writing and still alive. the Amphibians and Reptiles of Mexico in English and Spanish, Herpetol. Unfortunately, conditions that stimulated reproduction in Circ. 23:1-113), KEYWORD. DATA on the animal. Place of deposition Pseudobranchus, e.g. turbid water, dense mats of vegetation and or intended deposition of specimen(s), and catalog number(s). Then skip substrate, also prevented ready observation of some behaviors such a line and close with SUBMITTED BY (give name and address in full— spell out state names—no abbreviations). (NCN) should be used for com- as courtship and fertilization. Searching for eggs and offspring mon name where none is recognized. References may be briefly cited in involved draining the tank, capturing the sirens and sorting through text (refer to this issue for citation format). the vegetation and substrate. It was believed that this level of dis- Recommended citation for notes appearing in this section is: Lemos- turbance might compromise animal health and inhibit reproduc- Espinal, J., and R. E. Ballinger. 1994. Rhyacosiredon leorae. Size. tion, hence frequent and continuous observations were not made. Herpetol. Rev. 25:22. Nevertheless, these might represent the only observations for size and age at first reproduction as well as growth, fecundity, oviposi- CAUDATA tion, and longevity for this species. AMBYSTOMA LATERALE (Blue-spotted Salamander) and LITERATURE CITED AMBYSTOMA MACULATUM (Spotted Salamander). PREDA- TION. Predation by wood frog (Rana sylvatica) tadpoles on A. CONANT, R., AND J. T. COLLINS. 1991. A Field Guide to the Reptiles and maculatum egg masses has been described in detail (Petranka et Amphibians of Eastern and Central North America. Houghton Mifflin al. 1995. Herpetologica 54:1-13). However, nothing has been Company, Boston, Massachusetts. 450 pp. GoiN, C. J. 1947. Notes on the eggs and early larvae of three Florida written on R. sylvatica predation on A. laterale. In Maine, all three salamanders. Chicago Acad. Sci. Nat. Hist. Misc. 10:14. species commonly breed in the same temporary woodland pools, MOLER, P. E., AND J. KEZER. 1993. Karyology and systematics of the sala- where R. sylvatica hatch first, then A. laterale, then A. maculatum. mander genus Pseudobranchus (Sirenidae). Copeia 1993:39-47. Ambystoma laterale masses have fewer eggs, and are encased in NETTING, M. G., AND C. J. GOIN. 1942. Descriptions of two new sala- jelly that is less dense than that of A. maculatum (Petranka 1998. manders from peninsular Florida. Ann. Carnegie Mus. 29:175-196. Salamanders of the United States and Canada. Smithsonian Inst. NOBLE, G. K. 1930. The eggs of Pseudobranchus. Copeia 1930:52. Press, Washington, D.C. 587 pp.). PETRANKA, J. A. 1998. Salamanders of the United States and Canada. On several occasions during Spring 2001, in woodland ponds Smithsonian Institution Press, Washington, D.C. 587 pp. in northern and central Maine, we observed R. sylvatica behavior that suggested preferential predation on egg masses of A. laterale over those of A. maculatum. A single predation event witnessed in captivity confirmed that R. sylvatica does attack and ingest larval A. laterale. 44 Herpetological Review 33( I ), 2002 On 7 May 2001 between 1655 and 1725 h, two observers counted hanging shallow water at the edge of a beaver pond. The locale, all egg masses in an approximately 900 m 2 temporary pool Monticello Glades, Oconee National Forest (33°14'N, 83°42'W), (44°57.72'N, 68°32.61'W) in Sunkhaze Meadows National Wild- is on the lower Piedmont Plateau of Georgia, and is a complex of life Refuge, Maine, USA. Average counts of two observers re- marsh, shrub, and forested wetlands immediately surrounded by sulted in the following estimated egg mass numbers: A. maculatum upland hardwood forests, some mixed with pine. Sphagnum moss (372), A. laterale (260), and R. sylvatica (172). Many of the R. is scarce within the complex. Insofar as we can determine, this is sylvatica masses had already hatched. We observed R. sylvatica the earliest range-wide date for which nesting has been recorded tadpoles "swarming" around egg masses of A. laterale. The same for this species (Petranka, op cit.). Additionally, it is the first record behavior was not observed on masses of A. maculatum eggs. of H. scutatum nesting in Georgia. Communal nesting appears to Swarming consisted of many tadpoles on and inside a mass, some be common for this species throughout much of its range (Petranka, making violent, alternating, side-to-side motions of the head and op cit.). body, apparently tearing at the egg mass. This behavior was much In addition to the nesting females, several other individuals were more active than typical algae grazing behavior. We observed sev- observed underneath logs in the immediate vicinity. One female eral tadpoles using the same behavior eating tissue of a dead, sub- was photographed beside the communal nest. The photograph was merged gray tree frog (Hyla versicolor). In contrast to their abun- deposited in the Georgia Museum of Natural History (GMNH dance on A. laterale egg masses (50+/egg mass), we observed very 46761). This individual and one other (GMNH 46762; both veri- few on or near the A. maculatum egg masses in the pond and none fied by M.E. McGhee) represent the first vouchered records for of the tearing motions. H. scutatum in Jasper County (Williamson and Moulis 1994. Dis- Similar behavior was observed on 15 May in a pool ca. 200 tribution of Amphibians and Reptiles in Georgia. Savannah Sci- miles north, and a week later at a third pool close to the first. ence Museum Special Publication No. 3. 712 pp.). Between 1355 and 1500 h on 15 May at 44°11.89'N, 68°39.28W MATTHEW J. ELLIOTT, one observer counted 128 A. maculatum egg masses and 546 A. Submitted by Georgia Gap Analy- laterale egg masses. Rana sylvatica had recently emerged. An- sis Program, Institute of Ecology, University of Georgia, Athens, other observer counted 132 egg masses prior to hatching. Again, Georgia 30602, USA (e-mail: [email protected]), STACY N. SMITH, R. sylvatica were observed in great numbers around A. laterale Warnell School of Forest Resources, University of egg masses (with some penetrating the interior), and in small num- Georgia, Athens, Georgia 30602, USA (e-mail: JOHN B.