A salamander survey of the Turkey Hill Oxbow, Columbia County, Pennsylvania, with comparison to historic records from an institutional collection

摘要

The Turkey Hill Oxbow, a small, locally significant forested/wetland area in central Columbia County, Pennsylvania, was surveyed for salamanders during 2015. A comparison of recent records was made to historic collections from this location within the herpetology collection housed at Bloomsburg University of Pennsylvania (BU). Nine salamander species, encompassing a total of 132 individuals, were found, revealing a slightly greater diversity represented by historic vouchers within the BU herpetology collection (eight species). The most common species were eastern red-backed salamanders (Plethodon cinereus) and Allegheny mountain dusky salamanders (Desmognathus ochrophaeus);the most uncommon were northern two-lined salamanders (Eurycea bislineata) and red salamanders (Pseudotriton ruber). Two species found in the recent survey (D. ochrophaeus and P. ruber) were not represented by historic vouchers in the BU collection. However, no spotted salamanders (Ambystoma maculatum) were found during this study, despite historic voucher records for this species from this locality.