Salamander is the common name applied to approximately 500 amphibian vertebrates with slender bodies, short legs, and long tails (order Caudata or Urodela). The moist skin of the amphibians limits 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. Their ability to switch between swimming and walking makes them interesting animals to study the evolution of locomotion during vertebrate evolution. The two types of gaits have been studied using neuromechanical simulations ^*. Salamanders superficially resemble lizards, but are easily distinguished by their lack of scales. They are capable of regenerating lost limbs.

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.

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.

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 [http://www.giant-salamander.com/.

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.

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 which, or so they were told, had been woven of wool from the salamander: 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. Legend has it that a fire salamander can walk through flames. But in winter it hides in a hollow log that might be collected as fire wood. When the log is thrown into the flames,the heat wakes the salamander, who tries to escape. This earned it the name Fire salamander (shown above).

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.

Popular Culture

---

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.

The MMORPG World Of Warcraft features humanoid salamander 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 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.

Classification

---

There are ten families belonging to the order Urodela, divided into three suborders:

'''Cryptobranchoidea (Giant salamanders)
Family	Common Names	Example Species	Example Photo
Hynobiidae	Asiatic salamanders	Western Chinese Mountain Salamander (Batrachurperus pinchonii)	-
Salamandroidea (Advanced salamanders)
Sirenoidea (Sirens)

References

---

External references

---

• Caudatamedia

Amphibians | Salamanders

Опашати земноводни | Halepadder | Schwanzlurche | Urodèle | Salamandra | サンショウウオ | Caudata | Płazy ogoniaste | Caudata | Саламандра | Salamander | Stjärtgroddjur | Rogne | 有尾目