Fire Salamander
Salamandra salamandra
Distribution,
Climate & Habitat: found throughout temperate southwest Asia, Europe,
and a small portion of northwest Africa, primarily in woodland and forest. Requires
damp and humid conditions, therefore found sheltering in mossy habitats and
crevices such as underground burrows and amongst decaying wood. Sensitive to
high temperatures
Size: females can approach 30 centimetres in length but are usually smaller; males are significantly smaller
Diet: small insects and other invertebrates found on the forest floor
Appearance:jet black above with bright yellow stripes and blotches scattered over the body; paler below. Has large parotid glands behind the eyes. The tail is round, as with all salamanders living on land (the aquatic newts have a fin-like tail for swimming)
Habits: the common name comes not from the colouration, but is related to the habit of sheltering among decaying wood; when logs where brought inside and thrown onto the fire, the heat drove the Fire salamander out; this, coupled with the fact that fire salamanders are rarely seen in the wild due to their secretive nature, gave rise to the European superstition that they are born of fire. When stressed, the parotid glands and other glands along the body secrete a poisonous substance that deters would-be predators. Mainly nocturnal. The breeding cycle varies according to locality, but always involves live birth rather than eggs; some populations, mainly those living at high elevations, give birth to fully formed small salamanders while other populations produce an aquatic, larval stage that slowly develops into a fully formed small salamander.
Fascinating Fact:
some Fire salamanders have lived for over
50 years in captivity!