SALAMANDERS 

 Chapter 9 



Salamanders have long held a place in popular superstition. The famous 

 fire salamander of Europe is reputed to have such an asbestos constitution that 

 it seeks out the heart of a fire in which to bask. The author once had a prac 

 tical demonstration of the way in which this superstition may have arisen. Hav 

 ing used some old fence rails for a campfire, he was surprised to see several of the 

 common red-backed salamanders, Plethodon cinereus, hastily emerging from 

 the fissures of the rails as the fire burned. Needless to say, the salamanders 

 lost no time in leaving the scene, since, unHke lizards, they carr>^ on much of 

 their respiration through the skin, which must be kept moist. 



The nature of the skin is one of the best distinguishing characteristics be- 

 tween salamanders and lizards. Most salamanders have moist, scaleless skins, 

 while all but a few degenerate members of the lizard group have dry, scaly 

 skins. In regions where lizards are scarce or unknown, the term "lizard"" is 

 commonly misapplied to the local salamanders. 



Although limited to moist situations, salamanders have become adapted 

 to a variety of habitats. Even in cave pools and artesian wells they are some' 

 times found, usually as blind or colorless forms. The European salamander of 

 the genus Proteus has been frequently described and pictured in textbooks. 

 Several equally modified or degenerate forms are found in America. In large 

 streams and rivers may be found our largest or giant salamanders, such as 

 l^ecturus, Cry ptohranchus and Amphiuma, the latter reaching a length of 

 about three feet. The only close relative of Cry ptohranchus, found, strangely 

 enough, in China and Japan, is the largest of living salamanders and reaches 

 the imposing length of five feet. In muddy lakes of the southern states occurs 

 the siren, an eel-like salamander that has lost all vestiges of hind legs and re 

 tains only a very small pair of front legs. In swift mountain brooks may be 

 found the genera Desmognathus, Eurycea, Pseudotriton, Gyrinophilus and 

 others. In order to maintain themselves in the swiftly flowing water, these 

 forms have given up their buoyant lungs and, in the adult, carry on respiration 

 through the skin and the lining of their mouths. In quiet ponds with much 

 submerged vegetation live the newts of the genus Triturus, the common species 

 of which are attractive, red-spotted, greenish or brownish animals with flat' 

 tened tails and large hind feet. Usually these newts spend much of their second 

 year of life on land, as red efts, but return to the water and to a more somber 

 color for their adult life. Some salamanders have taken up a terrestrial exist' 



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