Only one transformed adult Western Grotto Salamanders has been discovered in Kansas, all of the rest reported are larvae or larviform adults. The larvae have bushy gills and a moderately high dorsal tail fin. Larvae are lightly pigmented (tan dorsally, often weakly stippled or mottled) and have functional eyes. Hatchlings are 13 to 36 mm snout to vent length (17 to 135 mm total length).
Adult (transformed) Grotto Salamander is characterized by a slender body, very small eyes in adults (the eyelids are normally partly fused shut), a body color of brownish purple to pinkish white, and 16- 19 vertical grooves on each side of the body between the front and hind limbs. Adult males exhibit a swollen upper lip with two small, fleshy projections during the breeding season, and, presumably, females have heavier bodies than males during this period.
Adults normally 75-121 mm (3-4¾ inches) in total length. The largest specimen from Kansas is a larva (KU 153036) from Cherokee County with snout-vent length of 42 mm and a total length of 86 mm (33⁄8 inches), collected by Ray E. Ashton on 3 March 1973. The maximum length throughout the range is 135 mm (55⁄16 inches) (Powell et al. 2016).
Grotto Salamander larvae are known only from a few small springs and caves in the Ozark Plateau, along and south of Shoal Creek in extreme southeastern Cherokee County. These salamanders are more often found in caves that harbor bats.
The larval period may last from 1 to 6+ years depending on locality and conditions. Adults are known to live for at least 12 years in captivity, but their lifespan in the wild is unknown. Transformed adults have never been discovered in Kansas.
Adult salamanders of this species are blind and restricted to the interiors of caves, but the larvae have functional eyes and frequently are found in surface springs and small streams near caves. Smith (1932) first discovered this creature in Kansas and collected larvae from two spring-fed pools in Cherokee County during March and April. Ireland (1970) observed Grotto Salamanders in a small cave spring in the same county. Presumably these also were larvae, because they were not collected from a cave interior. Collins (1974) found a larva of this species in August in Cherokee County under a rock in a small stream which intermittently flowed from Schermerhorn Cave, approximately 22.9 meters (75 feet) away.
Rundquist and Collins (1977) obtained data on this species from Schermerhorn Cave stream in Cherokee County and estimated the population at 5-10 larvae per square meter of stream. Irwin (1980) observed two larvae of this salamander in the same cave stream in late December. Collins (1982) observed six larvae of these amphibians in the twilight zone of Schermerhorn Cave, and another larva in a small roadside spring east of the cave, both on the night of 19 March. Loraine (1983) observed three larval Grotto Salamanders on 12 March and 15 April in a small pool in the twilight zone of Schermerhorn Cave, and he found eight larvae in a small roadside spring at the base of a forested slope on 15 April. Beard (1986) and Young (1986), during their exploration of Schermerhorn Cave, observed three larval examples of this amphibian, one in a cave passage 701 meters (2,300 feet) from the entrance. Taggart (1992) reported finding eleven Grotto Salamander larvae in the stream in the same cave, seven on 4 July and four on 13 August. To date, only one adult Grotto Salamander (KU 52241) has been found in Kansas. It is possible that this species most often occurs in the state only in a sexually mature larval form.
Grotto Salamanders are most active during spring and summer months when moisture levels in caves are high, food is abundant, and courtship is taking place. In Kansas, courtship and deposition of eggs have not been observed for this salamander. According to Brandon (1970), the eggs probably are deposited in or near water, attached to rocks. The gilled, stream-type larvae transform into adults two to three years after hatching.
Little is known of this salamander's food preferences in Kansas, but it probably feeds on small aquatic invertebrates (Clarke, 1970). Adults feed on aquatic and terrestrial invertebrates, including flies, mosquito larvae, and beetles. Grotto salamander larvae eat isopods, fly larvae, snails, and bat guano (Collins, 1993).
First reported from Kansas by Smith (1933, 1934, 1945) based on 60 larval specimens collected on 3-5 April 1931 and 24-27 March 1932 at two pools (~305 meters [1000 feet] apart) in Cherokee County, Kansas. Forty-two specimens exist form these collections: FMNH 126733-41*, 190351-3; USNM 134296*; KU 16036-9, 16041-5, 16153-60, 16349-60 (the collection dates of those specimen(s) denoted by an asterisk [*] and all the localities associated with these specimens are inconsistent with what was ultimately published in Smith [1945]). These are the earliest extant specimens of this species in Kansas.
USNM 134296 (formerly UIMNH 27304; collected 'near Riverton, Cherokee County, Kansas' by 'H. M. Smith et al.' on 26 March 1931) was published (p. 28) in Cochran (1961) as a paratype of Typhlotriton nereus Bishop (a species [Eurycea nerea], now relegated to south-central Missouri and extreme north-central Arkansas).
Repeated attempts to locate transformed adults over the past 50 years in Schermerhorn Park Cave have been unsuccessful (though Rundquist and Collins (1977) list KU 52241 as an 'adult', and this specimen needs to be reexamined).
Although, well-represented and documented by specimens in the state the status of the Western Grotto Salamander remains precarious. While it is known from several localities, many of these sites may ultimately be shown to represent the same underground aquifer. When taken together, its dependence on underground springs, small footprint in the state, and obligate aquatic biology, the Western Grotto Salamander is especially sensitive to water quality degradation due to environmental contamination.
Layher (2002) recommended the down-listing of this species to SINC status at such a time it is known from 20 localities and when 16 of those localities are protected in some manner. He further recommended that upon confirmation of the species continued existence at those sites five years later, it should be dropped from the SINC list.
Phillips et al. (2017) found that E. spelaea (sensu lato) was composed of three different clades across its range in Arkansas, Kansas, and Missouri. The Kansas population, as well as other populations from the Middle Arkansas River drainage, were assigned to E. spelaea, while populations to the to the northeast (E. nerea, Bishop 1944)and east (E. braggi, Smith 1968) were elevated.Phillips et al. (2017) did not provide standard English names for the groups they discovered, however, they did name the groups (Western [= E. spelaea], Northern [= E. nerea], and Southern [= E. braggi]), and I have followed their lead in applying the English name "Western Grotto Salamander" to those populations that occur in Kansas. Another often used English name for E. spelaea is Ozark Blind Salamander. The 'official' standard English name won't be available until the SSAR publishes the next edition of their list (see Crother (ed.) 2017).
Listed as Kansas Endangered species in 1978. A recovery plan exists for this species (Layher 2002).
As defined by Kansas Administrative Regulations, critical habitats include those areas documented as currently supporting self-sustaining population(s) of any threatened or endangered species of wildlife as well as those areas determined by the Kansas Department of Wildlife, Parks, and Tourism to be essential for the conservation of any threatened or endangered species of wildlife.
Currently, the following areas are designated critical for Grotto Salamanders:
All caves and associated spring flows within that portion of Cherokee County lying south and east of a line beginning at the Kansas-Missouri border junction with U.S. Highway 66 at Sec. 13, T34S, T25E, then extending westerly and southerly along U.S. 66 to the Kansas- Oklahoma border at Sec. 14, T35S, R24E.
Based on a captive specimen, Snider and Bowler (1992) reported a maximum longevity for this salamander of nine years, eleven months, and nineteen days.
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