The Breeding Ecology of a Critically Endangered Salamander, Hynobius amjiensis (Caudata：

The Breeding Ecology of a Critically Endangered Salamander, Hynobius amjiensis (Caudata：Hynobiidae), Endemic to Eastern China

Cangsong

CHEN;Jia

YANG;Yunke

WU;Zhongyong

FAN;Weiwei

LU;Shuihua

CHEN;Lipeng YU

【期刊名称】《亚洲两栖爬行动物研究（英文版）》 【年(卷),期】2016(007)001

【摘要】Hynobius amjiensis is a critically endangered salamander species (IUCN Red List) endemic to eastern China. It currently has three known populations: one in Longwangshan, Zhejiang Province (type locality), and two in Qingliangfeng between Anhui and Zhejiang Provinces. We examined the relatively unstudied breeding ecology of this species in the field and at laboratory from March 2007 to May 2014. Adult males and females were year-round terrestrial, except for the February–April breeding season. During this period, we captured only a total of 16 breeding adults (11 males and 5 females). As few as 100 breeding females were estimated based on the number of egg sacs observed since 2007. This number was significantly reduced from the estimated number between 1992 and 1998. Males (mean total length = 16.21 cm, mean body mass = 18.8 g) were slightly smaller than females (16.51 cm, 19.2 g). Size of breeding pools ranged from 0.2 m2 to 1.2 m2 (0.1–1.2 m depths). Each female deposits a pair of egg sacs by attaching