From Encyclopedia Jr, free information reference for Kids
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For other uses, see Salamander (disambiguation).
Salamander is the common name applied to approximately 500 amphibians with slender bodies, short legs, and long tails. The moist skin of the amphibians fits them to habitats either near water or under some protection on moist ground, usually in a forest. Some species are aquatic throughout life, some take to the water intermittently, and some are entirely terrestrial as adults. Salamanders superficially resemble lizards, but are easily distinguished by their lack of scales. They are capable of regenerating lost limbs.
[edit] Physiology
Their ability to switch between swimming and walking makes them interesting animals to study the evolution of animal locomotion during vertebrate evolution. The two types of gaits have been studied using neuromechanical simulations [1].
Adult salamanders who retain their external gills are called perennibranchiate species.
Some salamanders retain their juvenile, gilled morphology but become sexually mature in a process called neoteny. The axolotl, Ambystoma mexicanum, is a textbook example of a neotenic salamander, although there are many more neotenic species within the Ambystoma species complex. The juvenile form is retained to avoid the rigors of terrestrial life.
[edit] Reproduction
The female members of the suborder Salamandroidea have cloacal glands in their cloacal chamber called spermathecae used to store sperm, as well as cloacal lips to pick up the male spermatophores.
The suborders Cryptobranchoidea and Sirenoidea have external fertilization.
[edit] Habitat
Species of salamanders are numerous and found in most moist or aqueous habitats in the northern hemisphere. Most are small but some reach up to 5 feet in length. They live in brooks and ponds and other moist locations. North America has the hellbender and the mudpuppy which can reach the length of a foot or more. In Japan and China the giant salamander is found, which reaches 5 feet (1.5m) and weighs up to 30 kilograms [2][3].
Salamander habitat is generally restricted to mostly the northern hemisphere, with the exception of a few species living in the northernmost part of South America. Although common on the European mainland, salamanders are not a native species of either Great Britain or Ireland.
[edit] Mythology
The mythical salamander resembles the real salamander somewhat in appearance, but makes its home in fires, the hotter the better. (Similarly, the salamander in heraldry is shown in flames, but is otherwise depicted as a generic lizard.) Early travelers to China were shown garments supposedly woven from salamander wool; the cloth was completely unharmed by fire. The garments had actually been woven from asbestos. Later Paracelsus suggested that the salamander was the elemental of fire. Because of this, salamanders have often been associated with dragons because of their connection with fire. These myths originate in Europe from the fire salamander, Salamandra salamandra, which hibernates in and under rotting logs. When logs were brought indoors and put on the fire, the animals mysteriously appeared from the flames.
King Francois I of France used a salamander as his personal emblem.
[edit] Popular culture
Adm. David Glasgow Farragut, famous for proclaiming "Damn the torpedoes, full speed ahead", was nick-named Old Salamander for his great naval exploits during the Civil War. Torpedoes refer to ocean mines.
In C.S. Lewis's fantasy book The Silver Chair, Salamanders are said to be very wise creatures that live in the flames of Bism, and speak to the Gnomes there.
Salamander (arcade game) is a 2D shoot 'em up series by Konami. It is generally considered a sister series to Gradius, and the games feature a variation on the Gradius power-up system, as well as both horizontal and vertically scrolling levels.
Salamanders are magical beasts mentioned in the Harry Potter series.
In Fahrenheit 451 by Ray Bradbury, the salamander, along with the mythical phoenix, is a symbol of the firemen.
In the Discworld series of books, salamanders are used by Iconographers to create flash for their pictures.
The MMORPG World Of Warcraft features humanoid "salamander" (more accurately lizard-like) creatures that can be found in the raid zone Molten Core, including several bosses. They are generally referred to as Flamewakers, which is likely a nod to the aforementioned information about fire salamanders.
In Castlevania: Circle of the Moon, Salamander can be summoned by Nathan, providing him with fire-elemental magic.
In the second and third installments of the games in the Megaman: Battle Network series, a powerful attack known as the Salamander, harnessed the power of fire and sent a great flame in the shape of the creature flying at the enemy if the player had a style aligned with fire.
In Lost Magic, the Salamander is one of the four elementals, found in Blaze Lake; attacks using fireballs.
In Battletech, the Salamander is a fearsome Clan anti-battlemech and anti-infantry battle armor that utilizes a flamethrower type weapon in conjunction with incendiary missiles.
In the anime Legendz, Salamander is an anthropomorphic caudate who is relegated a role as a minor character.
In the Karel Čapek´s novel War with the Salamanders (or War with the Newts) the specie Andrias scheuchzeri plays the main role.
In the anime Fullmetal Alchemist, Colonel Roy Mustang, known as the Flame Alchemist has a salamander depicted on the transmutation circle on his gloves. While wearing the gloves, with a snap of his fingers, he can set anything ablaze.
In the Pokemon franchise, the fire Pokemon Magmar and its evolutionary family of Magby and Booburn are all salamanders.
[edit] Classification
There are ten families belonging to the order Urodela, divided into three suborders:
| Cryptobranchoidea (Giant salamanders) |
| Family |
Common Names |
Example Species |
Example Photo |
| Cryptobranchidae |
Giant salamanders |
Hellbender (Cryptobranchus alleganiensis) |
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| Hynobiidae |
Asiatic salamanders |
Western Chinese Mountain Salamander (Batrachurperus pinchonii) |
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| Salamandroidea (Advanced salamanders) |
| Ambystomatidae |
Mole salamanders |
Marbled Salamander (Ambystoma opacum) |
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| Amphiumidae |
Amphiumas or Congo eels |
Two-toed Amphiuma (Amphiuma means) |
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| Dicamptodontidae |
Pacific giant salamanders |
Pacific Giant Salamander (Dicamptodon tenebrosus) |
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| Plethodontidae |
Lungless salamanders |
Red Back Salamander (Plethodon cinereus) |
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| Proteidae |
Mudpuppies or waterdogs |
Olm (Proteus anguinus) |
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| Rhyacotritonidae |
Torrent salamanders |
Southern Torrent Salamander (Rhyacotriton variegatus) |
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| Salamandridae |
True salamanders |
Alpine Newt (Triturus alpestris) |
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| Sirenoidea (Sirens) |
| Sirenidae |
Sirens |
Greater Siren (Siren lacertina) |
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