Salamandra salamandra

The Fire Salamander occurs in central and southern Europe, with parts of its range extending into northern Africa and the Middle East. (Griffiths, 1996)

S. salamandra prefers woodland habitats, especially those with much shade and nearby ponds or streams for breeding. It spends much time beneath rocks or logs, or hiding in crevices to stay protected and moist. (Griffiths, 1996)

Salamandra salamandra is the largest species in the family Salamandridae, ranging from 15 to 25cm long, with some individuals exceeding 30cm. Its body is black with yellow or orange markings that occur in patterns varying from discrete spots to large splotches or bands. The underside is usually dark grey with fewer spots. Body length exceeds tail length, and the limbs are stout. Females tend to be slightly larger than males, but little other sexual dimorphism exists. (Griffiths, 1996)

Fertilization is internal via deposition of a spermatophore by the male. The female may retain the sperm for some time before ovulation and fertilization occur. This helps to account for the long gestation between the peak of mating season in the summer and the birth of the larvae in the following spring, after the winter hibernation. This seasonal pattern shifts in the warmer Middle Eastern populations, where breeding occurs October-January, with larval birth occuring the following November-December, after the period of inactiviy that occurs during the arid summer. Breeding occurs on land, and the females deposit their young in water.

S. salamandra is considered viviparous. The female retains the developing eggs, and the embryos derive their nourishment from the yolk. At birth the larvae are usually quite advanced, although some populations deposit young that have already metamorphosed.

Fire Salamanders may live in excess of 14 years; therefore, females have the chance to breed multiple times during their lives. (Griffiths, 1996; Lanza, et al., 1998; Pough, et al., 1998)

S. salamandra is a shy species and spends much time hidden in shady crevices, under logs, or other such spots that will provide protection and moisture. Its main periods of activity are on mild nights; it is inactive during seasons of temperature extremes, such as the winters in its European range and the summers of its Middle Eastern range.

The Fire Salamander typically will stay loyal to the same home range for many years. They will also continually revisit the same overwintering spots: one experiment found individuals returned to the same cave to hibernate for up to 20 years. These journeys require some mechanism for homing; Fire Salamanders have been observed to follow paths with landmarks for orientation. It is not known if these landmarks are more significant for their visual or their olfactory cues, although some experiments indicate that the visual cues may be important.

The main defense of S. salamandra against predators is its toxicity, and its aposematic coloration warns predators. The large paratoid glands behind the eyes and rows of poison glands extending lengthwise down the animal's body secrete neurotoxins. The Fire Salamander is capable of actively spraying these chemicals at predators to discourage attack, rather than relying on escaping once the predator realizes it makes an unpleasant meal. (Griffiths, 1996; Pough, et al., 1998)

The diet of S. salamandra consists of invertebrate prey and is generally a mixture of the most abundant species available in the salamander's particular habitat. These include soft-bodied prey such as earthworms and slugs, and harder-bodied prey such as flies, millipedes, centipedes, and beetles among others. Young Fire Salamanders seem to imprint on their preferred prey types during the first few weeks following metamorphosis from the larval stage to the adult.

S. salamandra appears to employ different hunting strategies for different situations. When some light is available, it uses prey movement as its cue and ignores stationary prey. However, when hunting in the dark, it uses olfaction as its primary cue since vision is impaired. In this situation it will attack prey, if the prey is stationary, as long as it can detect the odor of the prey item. (Griffiths, 1996)

The Fire Salamander has been a popular species in the pet trade, and has also been utilized as an animal model in research (Griffiths 1996).

Better legislation has helped to reduce the numbers of Fire Salamanders that are caught in the wild for both the pet trade and for research.

Perhaps more of a threat is the crucial issue of habitat preservation. Like all amphibians, the Fire Salamander is susceptible to pollutants in its environment. Habitat fragmentation is also a potential problem since these animals are so loyal to their home ranges and overwintering sites. The ecological requirements of the species must be taken into consideration for any habitat protection effort (Griffiths 1996).

Traditional folklore held that salamanders could survive in fire; the term "salamander" actually comes from an Arab term for "lives in fire." The Fire Salamander in particular owes its name to these myths. The stories probably originated because salamanders, including S. salamandra, were frequently seen to crawl out of logs tossed onto cooking and campfires. Of course, their thin permeable skin offers no such protection. (Lanza, et al., 1998)