Salamanders belong to the class Amphibia, order Caudata (or Urodela), which sets them apart from frogs and toads due to their long tails and elongated bodies. They are vertebrates with moist, permeable skin that allows for gas exchange, making them highly dependent on humid or aquatic environments. The group includes over 700 known species worldwide, ranging from fully aquatic to entirely terrestrial forms, showing great diversity in form and lifestyle.
Physically, salamanders generally have slender bodies, smooth skin, and long tails that remain throughout their lives. They have short limbs positioned at right angles to the body, giving them a distinctive side-to-side walking motion. Their coloration varies widely—some species are dull brown or gray to blend with forest floors, while others exhibit bright reds, yellows, or blues as warning signals of toxicity. Most possess small eyes with eyelids and a sensitive sense of smell, which help them navigate dark, damp habitats.
Salamanders thrive in moist forests, wetlands, mountain streams, and underground burrows. Because their skin must stay damp to absorb oxygen, they avoid dry or exposed areas. Many species are nocturnal, emerging at night to hunt or mate when humidity is high. Their habitats also serve as important ecological zones, where salamanders help maintain insect populations and indicate environmental stability.
Their diet consists mainly of invertebrates such as insects, spiders, worms, and small crustaceans. Salamanders are ambush predators, using stealth and speed to capture prey with a quick flick of their sticky tongues. Aquatic species often feed by suction, drawing in small prey from the water. In this way, they contribute to the natural control of insect populations and serve as both predators and prey in the food chain.
Reproduction in salamanders varies greatly. Most species lay eggs in water, where the larvae develop with external gills before undergoing metamorphosis into adults. Others reproduce on land, with eggs hatching directly into miniature versions of the adults. Courtship rituals can be elaborate, with males using body movements, pheromones, or tactile displays to attract mates and ensure successful fertilization.
Types of Salamanders
Spotted Salamander (Ambystoma maculatum)
Found in: Eastern North America.
A large, robust salamander known for the two irregular rows of bright yellow or orange spots running down its glossy black back. It spends most of its life underground in forests, migrating to vernal pools on rainy spring nights to breed.
Eastern Newt (Notophthalmus viridescens)
Found in: Eastern North America.
This species has a complex life cycle with three distinct stages: a larval stage, a terrestrial juvenile “red eft” stage (bright orange-red), and an aquatic adult stage (olive-green with red spots). The red eft is highly toxic, warning predators with its vibrant color.
Hellbender (Cryptobranchus alleganiensis)
Found in: Eastern United States.
One of the world’s largest salamanders, it can grow over two feet long. It is fully aquatic and inhabits large, fast-flowing, oxygen-rich streams and rivers. Its wrinkled, flattened body and loose, fleshy skin help it absorb oxygen from the water.
California Giant Salamander (Dicamptodon ensatus)
Found in: Coastal Northern California.
A large, powerful, and primarily terrestrial salamander of the Pacific Northwest’s damp forests. It is one of the few salamanders capable of producing a vocalization—a sharp, low-pitched bark or squeal—when threatened.
Fire Salamander (Salamandra salamandra)
Found in: Central and Southern Europe.
A strikingly beautiful, iconic salamander with a glossy black body and vibrant yellow or orange markings that vary from spots to long stripes. It secretes a potent neurotoxin from glands on its skin for defense, which can cause muscle convulsions and hypertension in predators.
Marbled Salamander (Ambystoma opacum)
Found in: Eastern United States.
A stocky, boldly patterned salamander with white or silvery crossbands on a black body. Unlike most of its relatives, it breeds in the fall. The female guards her eggs in a dry pond bed until rains fill the pond and trigger them to hatch.
Two-toed Amphiuma (Amphiuma means)
Found in: Southeastern United States.
Often mistaken for an eel, this is a fully aquatic, legless salamander with four tiny, virtually useless limbs, each bearing two toes. It is a formidable predator in its swampy habitat and can deliver a powerful, painful bite if handled.
Tiger Salamander (Ambystoma tigrinum)
Found in: North America.
One of the largest terrestrial salamanders, it is known for its variable coloration of yellow or olive blotches, bars, or spots on a dark background. Some populations are entirely neotenic, meaning the adults retain larval features like gills and remain aquatic for their entire lives.
Red-backed Salamander (Plethodon cinereus)
Found in: Eastern North America.
An extremely common and entirely terrestrial salamander of deciduous forests. It has no aquatic larval stage; the eggs are laid on land and hatch into miniature adults. It comes in two color morphs: the classic “redback” and a lead-gray “leadback.”
Olm (Proteus anguinus)
Found in: Subterranean waters of caves in Central and Southeastern Europe.
A bizarre, cave-dwelling salamander adapted to life in perpetual darkness. It is blind, with pale, pinkish-white skin, and retains its larval gills throughout its life. It can survive for years without food and uses electroreception and a heightened sense of smell to navigate and hunt.
Axolotl (Ambystoma mexicanum)
Found in: The canal system of Xochimilco in Mexico City (critically endangered in the wild).
Famous for its permanent neotenic state, the Axolotl retains its aquatic larval form, including feathery external gills, throughout its life. It has an extraordinary ability to regenerate lost limbs, spinal cords, hearts, and even parts of its brain.
Slimy Salamander (Plethodon glutinosus)
Found in: Eastern United States.
A large, black salamander covered in white or silver specks. It is named for the sticky, glue-like secretion it produces from its skin to deter predators. This substance is very difficult to remove and can gum up a predator’s mouth.
Japanese Giant Salamander (Andrias japonicus)
Found in: Japan.
One of the two largest salamanders in the world, capable of reaching nearly five feet in length. It is fully aquatic, living in cold, fast-flowing rivers. Like the Hellbender, it has a flattened body and wrinkled skin for absorbing oxygen.
Anderson’s Crocodile Newt (Echinotriton andersoni)
Found in: Japan and the Ryukyu Islands.
A critically endangered newt with a spectacularly rugged appearance. It has a dark brown body with orange markings and prominent, bony ridges running down its sides, giving it a prehistoric, dragon-like or crocodilian look.
Spanish Ribbed Newt (Pleurodeles waltl)
Found in: The Iberian Peninsula and Morocco.
One of the largest newt species. It has a remarkable defense mechanism: when threatened, it can push its sharpened ribs through its skin, which are coated with a potent toxin, effectively turning its bones into poisonous spines.
Rough-skinned Newt (Taricha granulosa)
Found in: The Pacific Northwest of North America.
This newt is infamous for producing one of the most potent neurotoxins known, tetrodotoxin (TTX), which is the same toxin found in pufferfish. Its drab, rough-textured brown skin on top and bright yellow-orange underside serves as a warning to predators. A single newt contains enough toxin to kill several humans.
Cope’s Giant Salamander (Dicamptodon copei)
Found in: The Pacific Northwest of the United States.
A large, fully aquatic salamander that inhabits cold, clear mountain streams. It is a neotenic species, meaning it retains its larval form—including bushy external gills—throughout its life. It is a voracious predator of other stream-dwelling invertebrates and small fish.
Yellow-eyed Salamander (Ensatina eschscholtzii xanthoptica)
Found in: California.
This is a brightly colored subspecies of the Ensatina complex, a ring species. It has a vibrant orange body and striking yellow eyes. It lacks lungs and breathes entirely through its skin, a trait common to many plethodontid salamanders, confining it to moist environments.
Four-toed Salamander (Hemidactylium scutatum)
Found in: Eastern North America.
A small, delicate salamander easily identified by its constriction at the base of the tail, pure white belly with black speckles, and—as the name implies—having only four toes on its hind feet. It often nests in sphagnum moss mats above woodland pools.
Texas Blind Salamander (Eurycea rathbuni)
Found in: The Edwards Aquifer in Texas.
A classic troglobite, or cave-dweller, this salamander is adapted to a life in complete darkness. It has pale, translucent skin, external gills for absorbing oxygen from the water, and only vestigial eyes that are covered by skin. It navigates and hunts using other heightened senses.
Green Salamander (Aneides aeneus)
Found in: The Appalachian region of the United States.
A unique, lichen-patterned salamander with greenish or yellowish markings on a dark background, providing perfect camouflage on the mossy rock outcrops it inhabits. It is an excellent climber with slightly squared toe tips, allowing it to navigate narrow crevices.
Pacific Giant Salamander (Dicamptodon tenebrosus)
Found in: The Pacific Northwest of North America.
One of the largest terrestrial salamanders in the world, capable of reaching over a foot long. While most are neotenic and remain aquatic, some transform into terrestrial adults. These large adults are formidable predators, known to eat small mammals and other salamanders.
Cave Salamander (Eurycea lucifuga)
Found in: The eastern United States.
A slender, brightly colored salamander with an orange-red body and dark spots. While it is often found in the twilight zones of caves and under rocks at cave entrances, it is not a true troglobite and will also venture into nearby wooded areas.
Chinese Giant Salamander (Andrias davidianus)
Found in: Mountain streams and lakes in China.
The largest salamander in the world, reaching lengths of nearly 6 feet. It is critically endangered due to habitat loss, pollution, and over-harvesting for food and traditional medicine. It is fully aquatic and has poor eyesight, relying on sensory nodes on its head to detect vibrations.
Shenandoah Salamander (Plethodon shenandoah)
Found in: A very small range on three mountains in Shenandoah National Park, Virginia.
A federally endangered species that is restricted to cool, moist talus slopes at high elevations. It is a relic species whose survival is threatened by climate change and competition from the more widespread Red-backed Salamander.
Long-toed Salamander (Ambystoma macrodactylum)
Found in: The Pacific Northwest and mountainous regions of the western United States and Canada.
Identified by the long fourth toe on its hind foot and a yellow or greenish dorsal stripe that often has irregular edges. It is one of the most common and widespread salamanders in its range, breeding in a variety of cold-water habitats.
Georgia Blind Salamander (Haideotriton wallacei)
Found in: Underwater caves of the Floridan Aquifer in Georgia and Florida.
A bizarre, ghostly white salamander that is fully adapted to life in subterranean waters. It has external gills, extremely long and slender limbs, and only vestigial eyes. It is a skilled swimmer that feeds on small, blind cave shrimp.
Golden-striped Salamander (Chioglossa lusitanica)
Found in: The Iberian Peninsula.
A slender, graceful salamander with a long tail that can be shed and regenerated. It is typically a coppery-brown color with two striking golden stripes running down its back. It is a fast-moving species that inhabates the rocky, mossy banks of streams in northern Spain and Portugal.
Arboreal Salamander (Aneides lugubris)
Found in: California and Baja California.
A robust, mottled gray-brown salamander known for its ability to climb. It has a prehensile tail and squared-off toe tips for gripping bark. It is one of the few salamanders that can deliver a noticeable, and sometimes bloody, bite in self-defense.
Northern Dusky Salamander (Desmognathus fuscus)
Found in: Eastern North America.
A common, small to medium-sized salamander of stream banks and seepages. It is highly variable in color but typically has a light line running from its eye to its jaw. It is a member of the “lungless” salamander family, breathing entirely through its skin.
Western Lesser Siren (Siren intermedia)
Found in: South-central United States and northeastern Mexico.
An eel-like, fully aquatic salamander that lacks hind limbs and has only tiny, vestigial forelimbs. It has external gills and is capable of surviving drought by burrowing into mud and secreting a cocoon to prevent dehydration, a process called aestivation.
Jefferson Salamander (Ambystoma jeffersonianum)
Found in: Northeastern North America.
A slender, long-toed salamander with a dark gray or brown body and silvery-blue speckling on its sides. It is one of the first amphibians to migrate to vernal pools in late winter, often crossing snow. It is part of a complex that includes unisexual, all-female lineages.
Northern Red Salamander (Pseudotriton ruber ruber)
Found in: Eastern United States.
A stout, bright red or salmon-colored salamander with heavy black spotting throughout its life. It is often found in or near cool, clear springs and streams. Its vibrant red color warns predators that it has toxic skin secretions.
Many-lined Salamander (Stereochilus marginatus)
Found in: Coastal plains of the southeastern United States.
A small, slender, fully aquatic salamander with a variable number of dark lines running the length of its yellowish-brown body. It is a habitat specialist, living in acidic, weed-choked swamps, cypress bays, and slow-moving streams.
Spring Salamander (Gyrinophilus porphyriticus)
Found in: Eastern North America.
A large, predatory stream salamander with a salmon-pink to reddish-brown body and a faint line running from its eye to its nostril. It has a robust build and is known to eat other salamanders, earning it the nickname “spring lizard” in some areas.
Mudpuppy (Necturus maculosus)
Found in: Eastern North America.
A large, permanently aquatic salamander with distinctive, red, bushy external gills that it retains its entire life. It is nocturnal and inhabits rivers, lakes, and reservoirs. Contrary to myth, it is completely harmless and is not an indicator of poor water quality.
Oregon Slender Salamander (Batrachoseps wrighti)
Found in: The Pacific Northwest, USA.
A tiny, worm-like salamander with very short limbs and a long tail. It is part of the “slender salamander” genus and is often found by turning over logs and rocks in damp forests. It breathes through its skin and the lining of its mouth.
Italian Crested Newt (Triturus carnifex)
Found in: Central and Southern Europe.
A large, robust newt. During the breeding season, the male develops a tall, jagged dorsal crest and a bright, silvery stripe along the tail. It spends much of the year on land but returns to ponds to breed.
Alpine Newt (Ichthyosaura alpestris)
Found in: Central and Eastern Europe.
A beautiful newt where the breeding male is a striking blue on the sides with an orange belly and a black-and-white spotted pattern. Outside of the breeding season, they are terrestrial and have a more subdued, smooth-skinned appearance.
Mandarín Salamander (Tylototriton shanjing)
Found in: Southwestern China and Northern Myanmar.
Also known as the Emperor Newt, this species is stunningly colored with an orange or red head, limbs, and dorsal ridge, contrasting with a dark brown or black body. The bony ridges on its head and back give it a dragon-like appearance.
Warty Newt (Paramesotriton chinensis)
Found in: Eastern China.
A robust, aquatic newt with rough, warty skin. It is typically dark brown with an orange or red underside. It is a strong swimmer and prefers slow-moving or still bodies of water, like ponds and rice paddies.
Luristan Newt (Neurergus kaiseri)
Found in: A small region in the Zagros Mountains of Iran.
A critically endangered and spectacularly colored newt, often called the Kaiser’s Spotted Newt. It has a black body with brilliant white spots and a vibrant orange belly. Its extremely limited habitat and the illegal pet trade threaten its survival.
Red Hills Salamander (Phaeognathus hubrichti)
Found in: A very small region in Alabama, USA.
A large, elongated, and lungless salamander that spends its entire life in deep burrows in steep, shaded ravines. It is so specialized to its fossorial (burrowing) lifestyle that it is rarely seen on the surface. It is a federally threatened species due to its extremely limited habitat.
Tennessee Cave Salamander (Gyrinophilus palleucus)
Found in: Caves and underground streams in Tennessee, Alabama, and Georgia.
A large, neotenic salamander that retains its external gills and fully aquatic form as an adult. It has pale, pinkish-white skin and is adapted to a life of complete darkness in its subterranean habitat. Its large, flattened head helps it navigate and hunt in swift currents.
Korean Crevice Salamander (Karsenia koreana)
Found in: South Korea.
This salamander holds a unique distinction: it is the only known member of the lungless salamander family (Plethodontidae) found in Asia, all other members being in the Americas. It is a small, terrestrial species that lives in damp forest habitats.
Lake Patzcuaro Salamander (Ambystoma dumerilii)
Found in: Lake Pátzcuaro in Mexico.
A critically endangered, fully neotenic salamander, like the Axolotl, meaning it retains its larval features. It has large, bushy external gills and is fully aquatic. It is culturally significant to the local Purépecha people and is threatened by pollution and introduced fish.
Jordan’s Salamander (Plethodon jordani)
Found in: The Great Smoky Mountains of the southeastern United States.
A sleek, lungless salamander that is typically black with red cheeks. It is part of a complex of closely related species and is a common inhabitant of the high-elevation spruce-fir forests in its range, foraging on the forest floor at night.
Wehrle’s Salamander (Plethodon wehrlei)
Found in: The Appalachian region of the eastern United States.
A robust, lungless salamander with a variable pattern, often featuring white or yellow spots on a dark background. It is named for naturalist R.W. Wehrle and is often found in rocky outcrops and forests at higher elevations.
Black-bellied Salamander (Desmognathus quadramaculatus)
Found in: The Appalachian Mountains of the eastern United States.
One of the largest and most aquatic species in its genus. It is a dark, stout-bodied salamander with a sooty-black belly. It is a powerful predator in its cold, fast-flowing stream habitat, feeding on other salamanders and aquatic invertebrates.
Yonahlossee Salamander (Plethodon yonahlossee)
Found in: The Southern Appalachian Mountains of the United States.
One of the largest and most striking terrestrial salamanders in its range. It has a dark body with a broad, unbroken reddish-orange or chestnut stripe running from its head down its back. Its name comes from Yonahlossee, a Cherokee word meaning “trail of the bear.”
Taliang Knobby Newt (Liangshantriton taliangensis)
Found in: A small region in Sichuan, China.
A large, impressive newt with extremely rough, warty skin and a distinct dorsal ridge of pointed bumps. It is dark brown or black, often with an orange or red belly. It inhabits high-altitude pools and streams and is considered vulnerable due to habitat loss.