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Fire Salamander

(Salamandra salamandra)

 

Category: Amphibians

 

 

This enigmatic species is arguably the best known salamander species in Europe. It is black with varying proportions of bright yellow stripes and/or spots (and sometimes shades of red and orange). They can be very long lived – one specimen kept in a German natural history museum lived to be more than 50 years old! They prefer to live in deciduous forests, where they can hide in fallen leaves and lurk near mossy tree trunks.

Learn more about the Fire Salamander at Wikipedia and Reptiles Magazine.

 

Data & Facts

Scientific Classification
Kingdom - Animalia
Phylum - Chordata
Class - Amphibia
Order - Caudata
Family - Salamandridae
Genus - Salamandra
Species - S. salamandra

 
Did you know?
Interesting Animal Facts

Make sure you retract your eyes 30 times before swallowing!

It has long been known that Frogs retract their eyes and close them while eating, leading scientists to suspect that frogs use their eyes to help them swallow. This suspicion was finally confirmed in 2004, when the northern leopard frog was observed by scientists retracting its eyes while swallowing crickets, actually using them to help push the food toward its esophagus!

Learn more >>

 


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