Caudata

forest. Some species are aquatic throughout life, some take to the water intermittently, and some are entirely terrestrial as adults. Salamanders superficially resemble lizards, but are easily distinguished by their lack of scales. They are capable of regenerating lost limbs.

Species of salamanders are numerous and found in most moist or aqueous habitats in the northern hemisphere. Most are small but some reach up to a foot in length. They live in brooks and ponds and other moist locations. Northern America has the hellbender and the mudpuppy which can reach the length of a foot. Japan has the giant salamander, which reaches 5 feet (1.5m) and weighs up to 25 kilograms (55 lb).

Salamanders are generally restricted to the northern hemisphere, with the exception of a few species in the northernmost part of South America.

Classification

There are ten families belonging to the order Urodela, divided into three suborders:

• Suborder Cryptobranchoidea (Giant Salamanders)
  • Cryptobranchidae (Giant Salamanders)
  • Hynobiidae (Asiatic Salamanders)
• Suborder Salamandroidea (Advanced Salamanders)
  • Ambystomatidae (Mole Salamanders)
  • Amphiumidae (Amphiumas or Congo Eels)
  • Dicamptodontidae (Pacific Giant Salamanders)
  • Plethodontidae (Lungless Salamanders)
  • Proteidae (Mudpuppies and Waterdogs)
  • Rhyacotritonidae (Torrent Salamanders)
  • Salamandridae (True Salamanders and Newts)
• Suborder Sirenoidea (Sirens)
  • Sirenidae (Sirens)

Mythology

The mythical salamander resembles the real salamander somewhat in appearance, but makes its home in fires, the hotter the better. (Similarly, the salamander in heraldry is shown in flames, but is otherwise depicted as a generic lizard.) Early travellers to China were shown garments which, or so they were told, had been woven of wool from the salamander: the cloth was completely unharmed by fire. The garments had actually been woven from asbestos. Later Paracelsus suggested that the salamander was the elemental of fire.