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The common name of Salamanders is applied to approximately 350 amphibian vertebrates with slender bodies, short legs, and long tails (order Caudata or Urodela). The moist skin of the amphibians limits them to habitats either near water or under some protection on moist ground, usually in a 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. North 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.
1 Classification
There are ten families belonging to the order Urodela, divided into three suborders:
- Suborder Cryptobranchoidea (Giant Salamanders)
- Cryptobranchidae ( Giant SalamanderGiant Salamanders : Animalia : Chordata : Lissamphibia : Caudata Cryptobranchidae Genera Andrias Cryptobranchus The Giant Salamanders Cryptobranchidae are aquatic amphibians found in brooks and ponds in Japan, China and with a similar specimen in the Units)
- Hynobiidae ( Asiatic SalamanderAsiatic Salamanders : Animalia : Chordata : Lissamphibia : Caudata Hynobiidae The Asiatic Salamanders (Family Hynobiidae) are rather primitive salamanders spread all over Asia. The are closely related with the Giant Salamanders (Family Cryptobranchidae),s)
- Suborder Salamandroidea (Advanced Salamanders)
- Suborder Sirenoidea (Sirens)
