Salamanders & Newts

Information about Salamanders:

Salamander is the common name of some 500 extant species of amphibian. They are generally have slender bodies, stout noses and are long-tailed. They have moist skin, and therefore are usually not found very far from water, such as swamps, marshes, bogs, caves and in riparian areas. They are the only vertebrates that can regenerate lost limbs and other body parts. Salamanders range from very small – such as the minute salamanders which grown to lengths of only about an inch, up to the large Chinese Salamander that grows up to 6 feet long. Most salamanders, however, are about 4-8 inches long. Like frogs and some other amphibians, salamanders are generally in decline due to habitat loss, climate change and the deadly fungal disease chytridiomycosis.

Information about Newts:

Newts are members of the family Salamandridae, which are true salamanders. They have lizard shaped bodies, and are usually aquatic or semi-aquatic. They are native to wet habitats in North America, Asia and Europe. Newts are slender bodies. Like other salamanders, they are able to regenerate lost limbs, although this process isn’t fully understood. Newts produce toxins in their bodies, meant to discourage predators. Like the poison dart frogs of Central and South America, some native North American used the toxins of the newt as an offensive weapon. Like other amphibians, newts begin their lives in the water as eggs, then hatching out to become larvae, then when they have reached adulthood, newts leave the water and dwell on the land, returning to the water only to breed. Both newts and salamanders are carnivorous. They are mostly nocturnal, and will emerge from their damp hiding spaces ad night to hunt insects and other small invertebrates such as worms, snails, and slugs.