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NATURAL HISTORY NOTESInstructions for contributors to Natural History Notes appear in Volume39, Number 1 (March 2008).CAUDATA — SALAMANDERSLISSOTRITON VULGARIS (Smooth Newt). PREY. Lissotritonvulgaris is a widespread species in Europe and western Asia.Because of their nectonic lifestyle (Dolmen 1983. J. Herpetol.17:23–31), adult L. vulgaris feed primarily on planktonic Crustacea(Dolmen and Koksvik 1983. Amph.-Rept. 6:133–136). Thefollowing observations were made on 5 May 2007 between 1500and 1545 h at an artificial pond in northern Hesse, Germany(51.2069444°N, 9.0722222°E; elev. 330 m). An adult female L.vulgaris (ca. 95 mm TL) was observed to capture a large dragonflynymph (total length about 50 mm, family Aeshnidae). The nymph,which was sitting on a floating leaf, had recently moulted and thechitin armor appeared to be soft. The newt approached the leaffrom beneath and captured the insect with a quick bite into itsanterior portion. Another female L. vulgaris appeared and snappedseveral times at the legs of the nymph. The intruder took the preyfrom the other female and disappeared into deeper water, holdingthe nymph between its jaws. Whether the newt succeeded inswallowing its prey remains unknown. Because of their size andusually protective exoskeleton such large dragonfly nymphs maynot form a regular part of the diet of L. vulgaris (Avery 1986.Oikos 19:408–412).Submitted by ANDREAS HERTZ, ForschungsinstitutSenckenberg, Senckenberganlage 25, 60325 Frankfurt am Main,Germany; e-mail: ahertz@senckenberg.de.NECTURUS MACULOSUS (Red River Mudpuppy). HOST.Several species of leeches have been known to prey upon amphibianspecies (Briggler et al. 2001. J. Freshwater Ecol. 16:105–111;Moser et al. 2005. J. North Carolina Acad. Sci. 121:36–40; Sawyer1972. Illinois Biol. Monogr. 46:1–46). The leech, Placobdellacryptobranchii (Ozark Hellbender Leech) was described in 1977(Johnson and Klemm 1977. Trans. Amer. Micros. Soc. 96:327–331). To date, the only known host for P. cryptobranchii is theOzark Hellbender, Cryptobranchus alleganiensis bishopi (Moseret al. 2006. J. Arkansas Acad. Sci. 60:84–95). Herein, we provideinformation on the first report of P. cryptobranchii on Necturusmaculosus.On 1 Sept 2005, four juvenile P. cryptobranchii were found attachedto a N. maculosus captured on the Eleven Point River, OregonCounty, Missouri, USA. The N. maculosus appeared healthy(mass 105 g; SVL 16.5 cm; TL 25.5 cm). While attached to the N.maculosus, all four leeches exhibited a reddish colored crop areathat indicated blood feeding upon the host. Two leeches were collectedand deposited at the National Museum of Natural History,Smithsonian Institution, Washington DC (USNM 1100749) whereblood-feeding was further confirmed by full crops in each leech(WEM, pers. obs.). This account is the first report of P.cryptobranchii feeding on N. maculosus, and the second knownhost for P. cryptobranchii. More information should be collectedon P. cryptobranchii to determine if its presence on N. maculosusis a common occurrence or an isolated event. Since 2005, surveyorshave captured 6 N. maculosus from the Eleven Point River inMissouri and this is the only instance when P. cryptobranchii wasobserved. With the continued decline of the main host, C. a. bishopi,this leech may need to rely increasingly upon N. maculosus.We extend our thanks to M. Allen, G. Cravens, G. Smith, R.Rimer, and P. Veatch for assistance in the field.Submitted by JEFFREY T. BRIGGLER, Missouri Departmentof Conservation, 2901 W. Truman Blvd, Jefferson City, Missouri65109, USA (e-mail: jeff.briggler@mdc.mo.gov); and WILLIAME. MOSER, Department Invertebrate Zoology, National Museumof Natural History, Smithsonian Institution, Washington, DC20013-7012, USA (e-mail: moserw@si.edu).NOTOPHTHALMUS VIRIDESCENS LOUISIANENSIS (CentralNewt). LEECH INFESTATION. Glossiphoniid leeches(Placobdella picta) have previously been reported to infest RedspottedNewts, Notophthalmus v. viridescens in Maryland (Mock1987. J. Parasitol. 73:730–737), New York (Barrow 1953. Trans.Amer. Microsc. Soc. 72:197–216; Pough 1971. Science 174:1144–1146), Pennsylvania (Raffel et al. 2006. J. Parasitol. 92:1256–1264), and Virginia (Gill 1978. Ecol. Monogr. 48:145–166). Toour knowledge, P. picta has not been reported from N. v.louisianensis.On 22 March 2007, D.J. visited a fishless pond with rootedaquatic vegetation situated in an oak-hickory forest of mountainousterrain, 1 km W St. Hwy. 23, Carroll County, Arkansas. SixtythreeN. v. louisianensis were collected and examined for leeches;18 (29%) had P. picta firmly attached to their integument, themajority under their lip, while others had leeches attached to thetail and lower abdomen. On several occasions, newts were observedtrying to physically remove leeches by biting at their tailsand shaking their heads vigorously, unusual behavior previouslyreported in N. v. viridescens by Gill (op. cit.). The same site wasrevisited about 2 months later on 19 May 2007 and 49 N. v.louisianensis were examined; only three (6%) possessed leeches.This observation further supports the understanding that P. pictais a temporary ectoparasite on amphibians and may be an importantregulator of certain populations (Brockleman 1969. Ecology50:632–644; Berven and Boltz 2001. Copeia 2001:907–915).We document herein the first report of P. picta infesting N. v.louisianensis. Interestingly, this leech has previously been reportedon other amphibians in northern Arkansas (McAllister et al. 1995.J. Helminthol. Soc. Washington 62:143–149; Briggler et al. 2001.J. Freshwater Ecol. 16:105–111; Turbeville and Briggler. 2003. J.Freshwater Ecol. 18:155–159; Moser et al. 2006. J. Arkansas Acad.Sci. 60:84–95).Voucher specimens of P. picta are deposited in the AmericanMuseum of Natural History (AMNH 5427); a voucher of N. v.louisianensis is deposited in the Arkansas State University Museumof Zoology, Herpetological Collection (ASUMZ 30705).We thank the Arkansas Game and Fish Commission for ScientificCollecting Permits 032920062 and 042320071 issued to C.T.McAllister. We also thank S.E. Trauth (ASUMZ) and S.C. Watson(AMNH) for curatorial assistance.Herpetological Review 39(2), 2008 205