Ringed salamander
The ringed salamander is a species of mole salamander native to hardwood and mixed hardwood-pine forested areas in and around the Ozark Plateau and Ouachita Mountains of Arkansas, Oklahoma, and Missouri. Most specimens are found in the vicinity of Hot Springs, Arkansas, and the Missouri portion of the Ozark Plateau. Small populations have also been found in western Illinois and eastern Oklahoma.
It is found in damp, forested areas, usually under leaves, rotting logs, or in abandoned ground holes of other organisms, near shallow ponds. Highly fossorial, adults are often found in subterranean refuges. This salamander is increasingly rare and perhaps endangered, likely a result of its restricted range and specific breeding habit needs. The world population is thought to be around 100,000 animals. Its conservation status is assessed as Least Concern by the IUCN.
