In What Kind of Place Do Salamanders Live?

Semi-Aquatic Salamanders

• Many salamanders live a semiaquatic lifestyle. This means they live along the margins of streams and wetlands, wherever there is clean running water. Semiaquatic salamanders hatch in water, like frogs, emerging as larvae. As they mature they leave their native streams and take up residence in damp, hidden areas nearby, in rocky crevices or under stumps and fallen logs. They emerge at night to consume worms, insects and larvae. They will return to the water to reproduce, and generally to hibernate during winter.

Fully Aquatic Salamanders

• Although biologists class all salamanders as amphibians, some species of salamander spend their entire lives in the water. Aquatic salamanders are often larger than their semiaquatic kin, with Asian species growing as much as 6-feet long. Aquatic species live in clear, quick-running mountain streams, where they are usually the dominant predator. They consume worms, insects, larvae, fish, crawfish and other aquatic animals including other salamanders. A few species retain external gills into adulthood, which are normally only a feature of larval salamanders.

Terrestrial Salamanders

• Some species of salamanders live their entire life cycle out of the water, and in some cases even in trees. Like their amphibious brethren they have a moist, froglike skin, so although they don't live in the water they are seldom far from it. They prefer the moist border areas around wetlands, where they can keep their skins from drying out. Terrestrial salamanders are also carnivores, eating insects, worms and other high-protein prey.

Threats to Habitat

• Like other amphibians, salamanders are unusually sensitive to environmental changes. This is because they breathe through their skin, which is a permeable membrane. Everything from common lawn chemicals to acid rain can damage salamanders and their eggs, and biologists have come to see them as important indicators of damage to wetlands. Loss of habitat to development is a problem for salamanders as it is to many other forms of wildlife. As a result, a few species, including the Asian giants, are near extinction due to habitat loss and culinary use by humans.