THE EARLY BREEDING HABITS OF AMBLYS- 

 TOMA PUNCTATUM 



ALBERT H. WRIGHT and ARTHUR A. ALLEN 

 Cornell University 



Casual observations made at Ithaca, during the past 

 eight or nine years, upon the habits of Amblysto<ma 

 pum-tatnm have emphasized the need of an intensive 

 study of the early breeding habits of this species, and 

 consequently during the spring of 1908 considerable at- 

 tention was given to this phase of its life history. 



The best collecting ground for this species was found 

 to be along the eastern border of the marsh at the head 

 of Cayuga Lake where it is skirted by a state road and 

 by the tracks of a trolley line. Here it is necessary for 

 the salamanders from the hill, on their way to suitable 

 breeding grounds, to cross the tracks and in so doing 

 many are killed by the passing cars. Heretofore, it was 

 believed that the majority came from the ravines which 

 cut through the hill in this locality. To test this, a trap 

 was placed at the mouth of one of the culverts under the 

 road. The trap yielded only eight specimens during the 

 ten days in which the species was migrating. It would, 

 therefore, seem that the salamanders came mainly from 

 the hill itself. For the study of spermatophores and 

 eggs ponds on the hilltop near the university proved most 

 fruitful. Six ponds were visited daily. In these, count- 

 less spermatophores and several hundred bunches of eggs 

 were deposited. A chart of each pond was prepared 

 and upon this, for future reference, the position of sev- 

 eral areas of spermatophores and each bunch of eggs 

 were indicated with the date of deposition. 



The first appearance from hibernation for this species 

 from 1903 to 1908 follows: 



687 



