Age and Growth of Hellbenders in the Niangua River, Missouri

Length-specific growth rates were derived by regression from growth of marked and recaptured hellbenders and these rates were used in developing a length-age relationship. Growth rates of Niangua River hellbenders declined steadily after metamorphosis; going from about 70 mm total-length increase pe...

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Bibliographic Details
Published in:Copeia 1975-12, Vol.1975 (4), p.633-639
Main Authors: Taber, Charles A., Wilkinson, R. F., Topping, Milton S.
Format: Article
Language:English
Subjects:
Age groups
Animal collection
Breeding seasons
Estimation methods
Female animals
Linear regression
Male animals
Mortality
Tortoises
Water quality
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Summary:Length-specific growth rates were derived by regression from growth of marked and recaptured hellbenders and these rates were used in developing a length-age relationship. Growth rates of Niangua River hellbenders declined steadily after metamorphosis; going from about 70 mm total-length increase per year at 18 months to about one mm annual increase at 30 years of age. Male and female hellbenders apparently grew at similar rates, but more females lived longer and they were larger. Both sexes appear to live more than 30 years, with 4.3% of the animals living longer than our extrapolated 30-year length. The population was dominated by long-surviving sexually mature hellbenders.
ISSN:0045-8511
1938-5110
DOI:10.2307/1443315