Archives of The Cold Blooded News

The Newsletter of the Colorado Herpetological Society

Volume 32, Number 11;   November, 2005

Fire Salamanders

by Jarrod Harvey

The genus Salamandra is comprised of two comprised of two species: S. salamandra and S. atra. These salamanders got their common name "Fire Salamanders" from early Europeans who observed them crawling out of logs in their fireplaces. Although the animals were obviously just trying to avoid being burned alive, you can imagine the legends and myths surrounding their common name. Although they cannot really survive fire, they must be two of the most interesting salamanders alive today. They are found west of the Elbe River and south of the Carpathian Mountains in Europe, and south to N. Africa and S. eastward to Iran. They are medium sized salamanders, S. atra reaching about 5" and S. salamandra growing to around 12". S. atra is solid black, but S. salamandra is a beautiful animal being black with yellow stripes, blotches, or spots. There are 11 subspecies of S. salamandra, so you can guess they are very variable in pattern. Both species are crepuscular or nocturnal but will venture out on overcast days when they can avoid the sun. They feed mainly on slow moving invertebrates. S. salamandra is said also to react to even stationary prey, which is atypical of most amphibians.

Breeding in Salamandra is also unique. S. salamandra mates on land, the male crawling under the female and hooking her forearms with his. He may carry her around like this for hours, continually stimulating her cloacal region, before she becomes receptive. When she does, she will move the posterior part of her body side to side. The male then raises his head and rubs the female's chin, depositing a spermatophore at the same time. The pair then maneuvers in a position convenient for the female to pick up the spermatophore with her cloaca. This is the cool part. The following year, the female will give birth to up to 70 fully formed aquatic larvae. No eggs are laid. The Alpine salamander, S. atra has an even more developed reproductive cycle. Courtship is essentially the same, but gestation lasts from 2 to 4 years and the female gives birth to 2 fully formed salamanders. The development of S. atra takes place in the oviduct and the two young that eventually emerge are nourished with the other eggs and embryos during gestation. Some forms of S. salamandra have also developed this method of reproduction.

Another incredible ability of Salamandra is their homing instinct. It seems that their eyes are relatively well developed for salamanders (reacting to stationary prey), and they almost always return to their same burrow after hunting. Although there is no conclusive evidence, some scientists have reason to believe that S. salamandra may have limited color vision, a trait not usually associated with amphibians. In any case, to find your way home from one or two hundred feet away is incredible if you're only an inch off the ground and have the brain of an amphibian.

S. salamandra is a hardy and long lived animal. Captive longevities of up to 50, count'em 50 years have been reliable reported. They can be kept basically the same as most salamanders but they like it really cool, about 60 to 70 degrees. The alpine salamander, S. atra, needs to be kept even cooler and doesn't apparently transport well. One thing I forgot to mention is that S. salamandra has prominent parotoid glands that produce an effective predator deterring toxin. I don't believe it is fatal or blinding, but would probably be irritating to eyes and mucous membranes, so be careful in handling these salamanders.

Fire salamanders are relatively expensive to acquire (for a salamander), but breeding them in captivity is possible and has been done. The larvae are about 1" to 1 1/2" long at birth and apparently easy to raise, feeding on daphnia, tubifex, and so on. They begin metamorphosis after 3 to 5 months (depending on the water temperature). Sexual maturity in this long lived salamander isn't reached until 3 or 4 years of age.

References:
Biology of Amphibians - Duell/Trueb
Breeding Terrarium Amimals - Elke Zimmerman
Atlas of Reptiles and Amphibians - Obst/Richter/Jacob