Kansas Herpetofaunal Atlas

Image © Suzanne L. Collins, CNAH.
AMPHIBIA (Amphibians) CAUDATA (Salamanders) AMBYSTOMATIDAE (Mole Salamanders)

Spotted Salamander
Ambystoma maculatum (Shaw, 1802)
ăm-bĭs-tō-mă — măk-ū-lā-tŭm

Conservation Status:
State: None
Federal: None
NatureServe State: SNA - Not Applicable
NatureServe National: N5 - Secure
NatureServe Global: G5 - Secure
CITES: None
Diagnosis:
 The dorsal ground color can be black, gray or brown on its back. The belly is gray to light blue. Down each side of the back, there are two rows of orange and/or yellow spots. They have 12 costal grooves.
Spotted Salamanders reach 6 to 9.5 inches (150-240 mm) in total length. The longest known specimen was 9 3/4 inches (248 mm) (Powell et al. 2016).
Distribution:
 No extant populations of this salamander are known in Kansas. Populations may ultimately be discovered in Cherokee, Linn, or Miami counties.
(,   Museum Voucher) (,   Observation) (,   Literature Record) (,   iNat Record), (  Fossil)
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Full range depicted by light shaded red area. Export Google Earth (.kml)
  • Occurrence Summary:  
  • 5
    Records 
  • 4
    Museum Vouchers 
  • 1
    Other Observations 
Some county occurrences indicated below may be too imprecise to map above.
 County Breakdown: County Name (# occurrences):
 Crawford (1); Douglas (1); Jewell (1); Shawnee (1); Trego (1);

Fossil History:
 Known from the WaKeeney Local Fauna (Late Middle or Early Late Miocene [Clarendonian]) of Trego County.
Fossils from the Hall Ash local fauna of Jewell County (Eshelman and Hager, 1984) are referable to this taxon.
Natural History:
 The Spotted Salamander is nocturnal, spends most of its time underground or undercover, and is rarely seen except during breeding seasons. In neighboring states, they breed in the early spring when adults migrate from cover to pools during winter rains. They exhibit courtship breeding patterns and internal fertilization. Females lay large clumps of up to 200 eggs in shallow pools, often associated with algae. There is believed to be a symbiotic relationship between the algae and the salamander, where the algae are provided with a safe place to live and grow and in turn, algae produce oxygen, which is needed for the embryonic development of the larvae. Eggs hatch in four to eight weeks and larvae metamorphose in two to four months. Adults can live for two decades
Occurrence Activity:
 Number of Unique Obervations (=days): 0; Range: 01 Jan to 01 Jan
Remarks:
 This taxon was first reported from Kansas by Cragin 1880, though Smith (1934) stated "Cragin's report of 1881 [sic] was based upon Jordan's Manual of Vertebrates, and neither author, it is likely, had actually seen specimens from Kansas.".
Smith(1934) gave detailed measurements and descriptions of the Douglas County specimen (KU 950). Hall and Smith (1947) give measurements for their Crawford County observation.
Smith (1934, 1956) reported this species from Kansas on the basis of specimens from Douglas County (KU 950) and Crawford County (KU 23278). The latter specimen was reported first by Hall and Smith (1947) from a locality one mile north of Pittsburg, and its presence was probably the result of an introduction at a fish hatchery (Rundquist and Collins, 1977). Collins (1974b, 1982a) reported both these specimens as lost, but recently the Douglas County example (KU 950) was rediscovered as a cleared and stained specimen in a classroom study collection. The specimen is disarticulated, the remains are in bad shape, and its specific identity cannot be determined. Thus, there are still no extant, identifiable specimens of Ambystoma maculatum from Kansas. Nonetheless, this amphibian is known from Delaware County, Oklahoma, 25-35 miles south of the southeastern comer of Kansas, and Johnson (1977, 1987) shows a record for this salamander from Barry County, Missouri, 30- 35 miles east of the eastern Kansas border. Anderson (1942) reported a specimen found crossing the road in the rain near Levasy, Jackson County, Missouri 41.6 km (25.9 miles) east of the Kansas border. The Spotted Salamander may be discovered in Kansas in the Ozark Plateau of Cherokee County.
Bibliography:
1802 Shaw, George. General zoology or systematic natural history. Volume 3. G. Kearsley, London, U. K.. 615pp.
Original descriptions of the Rana catesbeiana (=Lithobates catesbeianus) page 106, Lacerta maculata (=Ambystoma maculatum) page 304, and Coluber flagellum (=Masticophis flagellum) page 475.
1880 Cragin, Francis W. A preliminary catalogue of Kansas reptiles and batrachians Transactions of the Kansas Academy of Science 7():112-123
Also listed the Scarlet Snake (Cemophora coccinea) [=Ophibolus doliatus var. coccineus] and Red Salamander (Pseudotriton ruber) [=Spelerpes ruber] from Kansas.
1933 Smith, Hobart M. The Amphibians of Kansas. Thesis. University of Kansas, Lawrence. 383pp.
The first full accounting of the twenty-five species of amphibians known to occur in Kansas. Includes Ambystoma maculatum which is currently not included in the Kansas faunal list.
1934 Smith, Hobart M. The Amphibians of Kansas. American Midland Naturalist 15(4):377-527
The formal publication of Hobart Smith's Master's Thesis (Smith 1933), though there are several updated and additions. In addition to the species accounts for all twenty-five species, the paper includes a history of amphibian biology in Kansas and discussions on taxonomy and physiography. 
1936 Brumwell, Malcolm J. Distributional records of the reptilia and amphibians of Kansas. Privately printed, . 22pp.
County dot maps of the Kansas herpetofauna. This work has been attributed to have been written around 1933, but that may be in error. 
Hypsiglena jani was not known from Kansas until Claude W. Hibbard collected three specimens on the Stevenson Ranch in north-central Clark County (above Clark State Lake) during June 1936 (Hibbard, 1937). Brumwell plotted this locality, which leads me to believe that the 1936 would have been the earliest date this manuscript could have been written.
1942 Anderson, Paul. Amphibians and reptiles of Jackson County, Missouri. Bulletin of the Chicago Academy of Sciences 6(11):203-222
1947 Hall, Henry H. and Hobart M. Smith. Selected records of reptiles and amphibians from southeastern Kansas Transactions of the Kansas Academy of Science 49(4):447-454
Report on certain Kansas specimens housed in the collection at what is now Pittsburg State University. Included are several species of dubious status today, including Cryptobranchus alleganiensis from the Neosho and Spring rivers (the only specimens from those significant drainages ever documented), Ambystoma maculatum from just north of Pittsburg, Crawford County, Heterodon nasicus from Crawford County, Opheodrys vernalis from Crawford County, Sonora episcopa from Crawford County, Agkistrodon piscivorus from Cherokee County, Crotalus atrox from Crawford County, and Crotalus viridis from Crawford County. They report several significant range extensions including Kinosternon flavescens from Turkey Creek in southeast Cherokee County, Graptemys geographica from just north of Pittsburg, Crotaphytus collaris from near Columbus, Cherokee County, Sceloporus consobrinus from just north of Pittsburg, Phrynosoma cornutum from Cherokee and Crawford counties, Heterodon platirhinos from Cherokee and Crawford counties, Haldea striatula from Crawford County, Sistrurus tergeminus from Crawford County, and a 402 lb Macrochelys temminckii in Cherokee County from just east of Chetopa (Labette County). They allude to the potential for Anaxyrus fowleri to occur in southeast Kansas and for native populations of Crotalus atrox in south central Kansas (in part from the disclosure that John R. Breukelman [then of ESU] had obtained three specimens in Woods County Oklahoma, 3/4 of a mile south of the Kansas line). None of the specimens the paper was based on, exist today.
1950 Smith, Hobart M. Handbook of Amphibians and Reptiles of Kansas. University of Kansas, Museum of Natural History, Miscellaneous Publication (2):336
The first modern herpetology of Kansas. Includes locality dot maps within individual species accounts. Reports 96 species from Kansas (table and text say 97 on p. 10) and 13 "probable but unverified" species and subspecies.
1951 Brumwell, Malcolm J. An ecological survey of the Fort Leavenworth Military Reservation American Midland Naturalist 45(1):187-231
Published posthumously. Lieutenant Brumwell died December 14, 1941, as a result of injuries incurred during the Japanese attack on Pearl Harbor. This paper is a condensed version of his thesis for the Master's degree.
1953 Schmidt, Karl P. A Check List of North American Amphibians and Reptiles. 6th Edition. University of Chicago Press, Chicago, Illinois. 280pp.
Schmidt's first edition of his standardized checklist to North American amphibians and reptiles. Includes several specific references to Kansas in the range descriptions.
1956 Smith, Hobart M. Handbook of Amphibians and Reptiles of Kansas. Second edition. University of Kansas Museum of Natural History Miscellaneous Publication (9):1-356
Hobart M. Smith's updated second edition of his first (1950) modern herpetology of Kansas. Includes locality dot maps within individual species accounts. Reports 96 species from Kansas (table says 97 on p. 10; text says 98 on p. 10) and 11 "probable but unverified" species and subspecies. The second edition has updated taxonomy, added Plestiodon laticeps, and removed Eurycea tynerensis.
1957 Brame, Arden H. A list of the world's recent caudata. Privately Published, Los Angeles, California.. 24pp.
1957 Brame, Arden H. A list of the world's Recent caudata. Privately Published, University of Southern California. 31pp.
1958 Tihen, Joseph A. Comments on the osteology and phylogeny of ambystomatid salamanders. Bulletin of the Florida State Museum, Biological Sciences 3(1):1-50
1967 Choate, Jerry R. Wildlife in the Wakarusa Watershed of Northeastern Kansas. Kansas Biological Survey, Lawrence. 46pp.
1967 Anderson, James D. Ambystoma maculatum. Catalogue of American Amphibians and Reptiles (51):1-4
1967 Brame, Arden H., Jr. A list of the world's recent and fossil salamanders. Herpeton 2(1):1-26
1967 Gier, Herschel T. Vertebrates of the Flint Hills. Transactions of the Kansas Academy of Science 70(1):51-59
1969 Tihen, Joseph A. Ambystoma. Catalogue of American Amphibians and Reptiles (75):1-4
1974 Collins, Joseph T. Amphibians and Reptiles in Kansas University of Kansas Museum of Natural History Public Education Series (1):283 pp
Joseph T. Collins first Kansas herpetology. <Need to get species total and principal differences with previous 'version' (= Smith 1956)>
1975 Holman, J. Alan. Herpetofauna of the WaKeeney local fauna (Lower Pliocene: Clarendionian) of Trego County, Kansas. Pages 49-66 in Studies on Cenozoic Paleontology and Stratigraphy in honor of Claude W. Hibbard. Museum of Paleontology, The University of Michigan, Ann Arbor, Michigan. pp.
1977 Rundquist, Eric M. and Joseph T. Collins. The amphibians of Cherokee County, Kansas. Kansas Biological Survey, Lawrence. 12pp.
1978 Curl, Richard L. Final Environmental Statement: Milford Lake Kansas operation and maintenance. US Army Corps of Engineers, Kansas City District. 158pp.
Notable mentions: Spotted Salamander, Smooth Green Snake
1978 Brame, Arden H., Jr. II, Ronald Hochnadel, Hobart M. Smith and Rozella B. Smith. Bionumeric codes for amphibians and reptiles of the world. I. Salamanders. Transactions of the Kansas Academy of Science 81(1):43-56
1982 Collins, Joseph T. Amphibians and Reptiles in Kansas. 2nd edition. University of Kansas Museum of Natural History Public Education Series (8):
Joseph T. Collins second Kansas herpetology. <Need to get species total and principal differences with previous 'version' (= Collins 1974)>
1982 Rogers, Karel L. Herpetofaunas of the Courland Canal and Hall Ash Local Faunas (Pleistoncene: Early Kansas) of Jewell Co., Kansas. Journal of Herpetology 16(2):174-177
1983 Ireland, Patrick H. and Ronald Altig. Key to the gilled salamander larvae and larviform adults of Arkansas, Kansas, Missouri, and Oklahoma. Southwestern Naturalist 28(3):271-274
1984 Eshelman, Ralph and Michael Hager. Two Irvingtonian (Medial Pleistocene) vertebrate faunas from northcentral Kansas. Pages 384-404 in Contributions in Quaternary Vertebrate Paleontology: A Volume in Memorial to John E. Guilday. Special Publication Number 8 Special Publication Number 8, Carnegie Museum of Natural History, Pittsburgh, Pennsylvania. pp.
1984 Secor, Stephen M. and Charles C. Carpenter. Distribution maps of Oklahoma reptiles. Oklahoma Herpetological Society Special Publication (3):1-57
1984 Altig, Ronald and Patrick H. Ireland. A key to salamander larvae and larviform adults of the United States and Canada. Herpetologica 40(2):212-218
1991 Conant, Roger and Joseph T. Collins. Peterson Field Guide to Reptiles and Amphibians of Eastern and Central North America. 3rd ed. Houghton Mifflin Company, Boston, Massachusetts. pp.
1993 Collins, Joseph T. and Suzanne L. Collins. Amphibians and Reptiles in Kansas. Third Edition. University Press of Kansas, Lawrence, Lawrence. 397pp.
Joseph T. Collins third Kansas herpetology. <Need to get species total and principal differences with previous 'version' (= Collins 1982)>
1998 Conant, Roger and Joseph T. Collins. Peterson Field Guide to Reptiles and Amphibians of Eastern and Central North America. 3rd ed, expanded. Houghton Mifflin Company, Boston, Massachusetts. pp.
1998 Powell, Robert, Joseph T Collins, and Errol D Hooper Jr. A Key to Amphibians & Reptiles of the Continental United States and Canada. Univ Press of Kansas, Lawrence, Kansas. 131pp.
2006 Taggart, Travis W. Distribution and status of Kansas herpetofauna in need of information. State Wildlife Grant T7. Kansas Department of Wildlife and Parks, Pratt. vii + 106pp.
2010 Collins, Joseph T., Suzanne L. Collins, and Travis W. Taggart. Amphibians, Reptiles, and Turtles of Kansas Eagle Mountain Publishing., Provo, Utah. 400pp.
Joseph T. Collins fourth Kansas herpetology. <Need to get species total and principal differences with previous 'version' (= Collins 1993)>
2011 Holman, J. Alan, Leslie P. Fay, and William W. Korth. Herpetofauna of Late Miocene Sappa Creek Fauna, Northwestern Kansas. Paludicola 8(2):91-99
Much of the material reported on was indeterminate with respect to species. Identified taxa included: Colubridae, Hesperotestudo, Aspidoscelis, Heterodon or Paleoheterodon, Ambystoma, and Crotalus.
2012 Powell, Robert, Joseph T Collins, and Errol D Hooper Jr. Key to the Herpetofauna of the Continental United States and Canada: Second Edition, Revised and Updated. Univ Press of Kansas, Lawrence, Kansas. 152pp.
2016 Powell, Robert, Roger Conant, and Joseph T. Collins. Peterson Field Guide to Reptiles and Amphibians of Eastern and Central North America. Houghton Mifflin Harcourt, Boston. 494pp.
2017 Crother, Brian I. (editor) Scientific and Standard English Names of Amphibians and Reptiles of North America North of Mexico, with Comments Regarding Confidence in Our Understanding. Eighth edition. Herpetological Circulars (43):1-102
2019 Powell, Robert, Joseph T Collins, and Errol D Hooper Jr. Key to the Herpetofauna of the Continental United States and Canada. Third Edition. Univ Press of Kansas, Lawrence, Kansas. 192pp.
2020 Daniel, Richard E. and Brian S. Edmond. Atlas of Missouri Amphibians and Reptiles for 2019. Privately printed, Columbia, Missouri. 86pp.
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Travis W. Taggart © 1999-2025 — w/ Sternberg Museum of Natural History, Fort Hays State University