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Studies of Life Histories and Reproduction in North American Plethodontid Salamanders

  • Chapter
The Reproductive Biology of Amphibians

Abstract

Plethodontid salamanders are among the most abundant vertebrates of many North American ecological communities. Their evident ecological importance (Burton and Likens 1975a, 1975b) and unique associations of ubiquity, obscurity, and beauty have popularized plethodontids as subjects of evolutionary and ecological studies. Their reproductive ecologies and life histories have received particular attention in recent years, as studies have progressed from scattered anecdotes to detailed investigations. Sal-the and Mecham (1974) reviewed the literature through the 1960s. Since then, studies of several species have appeared: Gyrinophilus porphyriticus (Bruce 1969, 1972), Pseudotriton montanus (Bruce 1969, 1974, 1975), Stereochilus marginatus (Bruce 1971), Eurycea quadridigitata (Harrison 1973), Eurycea neotenes (Bruce 1976), Eurycea nana (Tupa and Davis 1976), Desmognathus fuscus (Danstedt 1975), Desmognathus ochrophaeus (Fitzpatrick 1973; Forester 1977; Huheey and Brandon 1973; Tilley 1972, 1973a, 1973b, 1974; Tilley and Hausman 1976), and Plethodon wehrlei (Hall and Stafford 1972). Houck reviews certain aspects of life histories of terrestrial plethodontids in this volume. Much, however, remains to be learned.

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Author information

Authors and Affiliations

  1. Department of the Biological Sciences, Smith College, Northampton, Massachusetts, USA

    Stephen G. Tilley

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  1. Stephen G. Tilley
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Editors and Affiliations

  1. Miami University, Oxford, Ohio, USA

    Douglas H. Taylor  & Sheldon I. Guttman  & 

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Tilley, S.G. (1977). Studies of Life Histories and Reproduction in North American Plethodontid Salamanders. In: Taylor, D.H., Guttman, S.I. (eds) The Reproductive Biology of Amphibians. Springer, Boston, MA. https://doi.org/10.1007/978-1-4757-6781-0_1

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  • DOI: https://doi.org/10.1007/978-1-4757-6781-0_1

  • Publisher Name: Springer, Boston, MA

  • Print ISBN: 978-1-4757-6783-4

  • Online ISBN: 978-1-4757-6781-0

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