The Salamander

A captive spotted salamander
Toft, Roy
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Urodela

Given the large number of different salamanders it is difficult to generalise about their appearance. For instance they can range in size from the tiny newt (family Salamandridae) up to the Giant Salamander (family Cryptobranchidae). They are carvinorous.

Being amphibians, salamanders are usually found near water or damp places. Some spend most of their time in water, some spend most of their time on land - but all need to keep moist and cool.

Pliny in his Natural History said of salamanders:

"This animal is so intensely cold as to extinguish fire by its contact, in the same way that ice does. It spits out a milky matter from its mouth, and whatever part of the human body is touched with this all the hairs fall off, and the part assumes the appearance of leprosy."

The Fire Salamander

The fire salamander is one of the most well-known European species of salamander and is probably responsible at least in part for the creature's legendary reputation.

The fire salamander is very long lived - reportedly sometimes as long as 50 years. They are also toxic and are able to excrete a posion through their skin. This could possibly have led to Pliny's rather unpleasant description of its danger.

But why is it called a "fire" salamander?

One possible explanation is the creature's habit of hibernating in logs. When the log was later brought in and thrown on to the fire the salamander would wake up and emerge. This could have led people to believe that salamanders liked or were even born in fire. In fact the poor things were simply trying to avoid being burnt alive!