The Amazing Animals
Amphibians: Salamanders«Back
Barred Tiger Salamander
(Ambystoma tigrinum mavortium
North America — Barred tiger salamanders are the largest terrestrial (meaning living on land) salamander in the world and are nocturnal (meaning active at night). Although typically 6 to 8.5 inches long, they can grow to a length of 13.5 inches. They also have long lifespans, with estimates that they may live as long as 20 years. Barred tiger salamanders have only four toes on their front feet and five toes on their back feet. They can live in a variety of environments from forests to desert scrublands. When hungry, they eat earthworms, large insects, small mice and smaller amphibians.
European Fire Salamander
(Salamandra salamandra)
Europe, Northern Africa, Western Asia — European fire salamanders are shy and spend much of their time hidden in shady crevices, under logs, or other similar spots that will provide protection and moisture. These salamanders typically will stay loyal to the same home range for many years. They also will continually revisit the same over-wintering spots. In fact, one experiment found that some of these salamanders returned to the same cave to hibernate for up to 20 years! The diet of fire salamanders consists of invertebrate prey and is generally a mixture of the most abundant species available in their particular habitat.
Spotted Salamander
(Ambystoma maculatum)
USA — Spotted salamanders are fairly large, usually 5 to 7 inches long; however, some may be more than 9 inches long. The adults feed primarily on invertebrates such as earthworms, insects and mollusks. The aquatic larvae of these salamanders generally eat small animals such as zooplankton and insect larvae that live in the same pond. Yet, sometimes salamander larvae are cannibals and eat other salamanders! Spotted salamanders are common in bottomland forests near floodplains; they also live in upland forests as well as in mountainous regions. Like other closely-related species of mole salamanders, spotted salamanders spend most of their lives on land and migrate to ponds for breeding. They survive best in ponds that do not contain fish, which will eat their larvae.
