CROATIAN FAUNA 2013 - AMPHIBIANS - FIRE SALAMANDER

FIRE SALAMANDER
 
Fire salamander or Salamandra salamandra (Linneaus 1758) is an amphibian from the family of salamandridae. It is characterised by its black body covered with yellow spots or lines. There are also entirely black specimens and those dominantly yellow but sometimes, although rare, also specimens with admixture of red or orange colour can be found. Fire salamander is 15 centimetres long, some specimens reach up to 25 cm. It lives in moist and shadowy habitats, like deciduous woods, most often on hilly ground and in mountainous areas near water, up to the altitude of 800 meters. This slow animal is mainly active during night, though on rainy days it can be seen also at daytime.
Most of its time salamander spends in protected shelters, sufficiently moist, e.g. under stones, leaves, trunks or in holes. Salamander feeds on insect larvae, snails, spiders and other invertebrates that live on the ground in woods. In the back of his head and in the four rows along his body it has got venomous glands whose poison serves as protection from assaulters and provokes irritation of nose and mouth but is not dangerous for man. Most animals avoid the fire salamander because of its warning colours.
 Specimens mate in spring and early summer and females have young larvae that further develop in water. They live 20 years in the wild and in captivity up to 50 years.
 Salamanders are very sensitive to the contamination and destruction of their habitat. They are spread in central and south Europe, north-west Africa and in the Middle East.

Paula Počanić