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1 June 2011 The Age Structure of a Breeding Population of Hynobius lichenatus (Amphibia, Caudata)
Tomonori Yamamoto, Hiroshi Ota, Satoshi Chiba
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Abstract

Using the lines of arrested growth (LAGs), we estimated the age structure of a breeding population and individual ages at sexual maturity of a salamander, Hynobius lichenatus, from Sendai, northeastern Japan. No significant sexual differences were detected in either the age structure or the age at maturity, and the breeding individuals ranged from 5 to 14 yrs old, while the age of their maturation ranged from 3 to 7 yrs old. Reasons for this difference in minimal ages remain to be studied. There was no significant correlation between the age and the body size of the salamanders. Hynobius lichenatus does not differ from its close relative H. tokyoensis from Tokyo in age structure, but mature significantly later, with a longer life, than H. tokyoensis from Chiba. These findings suggest that the age structure of these salamander populations is affected at most partially by temperature conditions, and more strongly by other environmental, ecological, or phylogenetic factors.

© 2011 by The Herpetological Society of Japan
Tomonori Yamamoto, Hiroshi Ota, and Satoshi Chiba "The Age Structure of a Breeding Population of Hynobius lichenatus (Amphibia, Caudata)," Current Herpetology 30(1), 7-14, (1 June 2011). https://doi.org/10.3105/018.030.0108
Accepted: 1 May 2011; Published: 1 June 2011
KEYWORDS
age at maturity
age estimation
age structure
Hynobius lichenatus
Skeletochronology
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