Best Salamander
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The olm, *Proteus anguinus*, is a unique European amphibian found exclusively in submerged caves of the Dinaric Alps. This blind salamander, belonging to the urodelan order, exhibits remarkable adaptations to its dark environment including depigmentation and reduced eyes. Its longevity – often excee...
The Chinese giant salamander, *Andrias davidianus*, is the world’s largest living amphibian belonging to the cryptobranchidae family. Native to freshwater streams in China, it can grow up to 1.8 meters long. This urodotean species is notable for its size and ancient lineage. It's currently criticall...
The axolotl is a unique aquatic salamander belonging to the Ambystoma genus. Native to Lake Xochimilco, Mexico, it's notable for retaining its larval features throughout life – a trait called neoteny. This remarkable amphibian possesses exceptional regenerative abilities, including limb regrowth, an...
A large aquatic salamander (Andrias japonicus) endemic to cool, fast-flowing streams in Japan, reaching up to 1.5 m and designated a Japanese Special Natural Monument in 1952.
A black-and-yellow European salamander (Salamandra salamandra) distributed across central Europe, defended by toxic skin alkaloids and notable for bearing live larvae rather than eggs.
North America's largest salamander (Cryptobranchus alleganiensis), reaching up to 74 cm and inhabiting clear, fast-flowing streams of the eastern U.S., where it is near threatened.
Spotted Salamander (Ambystoma maculatum) is notable for hosting photosynthetic algae within its embryos, the first confirmed case of algal endosymbiosis inside the cells of a vertebrate.
Salamandrella keyserlingii, the Siberian salamander, has the broadest geographic range of any salamander, spanning northern Russia to Japan, and can survive being frozen in permafrost.
Eurycea rathbuni is a critically endangered cave salamander endemic to the Edwards Aquifer beneath San Marcos, Texas, with vestigial, skin-covered eyes adapted to permanent darkness.
A viviparous Alpine salamander (Salamandra atra) inhabiting the Alps above 700 m elevation, giving birth to fully metamorphosed young after an unusually long gestation of two to four years.
Pacific Giant Salamander (Dicamptodon tenebrosus) is a large salamander of the Pacific Northwest and one of the few salamander species capable of vocalizing, producing low barking or rattling sounds.
Red-backed Salamander (Plethodon cinereus) is a lungless salamander of eastern North American forests that breathes entirely through its moist skin and ranks among the most abundant vertebrates in its habitat.
Pseudotriton ruber is a stocky, brilliantly red lungless salamander of the eastern United States, its coloration thought to mimic the toxic red-backed salamander.
Mudpuppy (Necturus maculosus) is a permanently aquatic North American salamander that retains bushy external gills throughout its life and remains active year-round, even beneath winter ice.
Eastern Tiger Salamander (Ambystoma tigrinum) is one of North America's largest land-dwelling salamanders, reaching up to 33 cm in length, and is the official state amphibian of Kansas.
Aneides aeneus is a rock-crevice-dwelling lungless salamander of the Appalachian region, recognizable by its distinctive green, lichen-patterned skin that provides camouflage on mossy rock.
Greater Siren (Siren lacertina) is a large, permanently neotenic salamander of the eastern U.S. that lacks hind limbs entirely and can survive extended droughts by aestivating in dried mud.
Two-toed Amphiuma (Amphiuma means) is an eel-like salamander of the southeastern U.S. possessing one of the largest known genomes of any vertebrate and capable of delivering a painful bite.
Eurycea sosorum is a federally endangered aquatic salamander endemic to Barton Springs in Austin, Texas, listed under the U.S. Endangered Species Act in 1997.
Eurycea lucifuga is a slender, orange salamander of the eastern United States that inhabits cave entrances and limestone outcroppings rather than the cave interior proper.
Three-toed Amphiuma (Amphiuma tridactylum) is a large, eel-like salamander of the Gulf Coastal Plain reaching up to 106 cm, making it among the longest salamanders in North America.
Tylototriton verrucosus, the crocodile newt, is a toxic, warty salamander native to the eastern Himalayas across Nepal, India, and southern China, notable for its vivid orange dorsal markings.
Marbled Salamander (Ambystoma opacum) is an eastern North American species that breeds in autumn on dry land, with females guarding eggs until winter rains arrive to flood the nest site.
Gyrinophilus porphyriticus is a large, salmon-pink lungless salamander of clear, cold mountain streams across eastern North America, spending much of its life as an aquatic larva.
California Giant Salamander (Dicamptodon ensatus) is a large salamander endemic to coastal California, formally described in 1849, and one of four species in the genus Dicamptodon.
Calotriton asper is a semi-aquatic salamander native to cold mountain streams of the Pyrenees across France and Spain, with a flattened body adapted to fast-flowing currents.
A cave-dwelling lungless salamander (Eurycea spelaea) of the Ozark Plateau that metamorphoses into a depigmented, visually impaired adult fully adapted to subterranean cave environments.
Blue-spotted Salamander (Ambystoma laterale) is a small northeastern mole salamander with vivid blue flecks on black skin, notable for forming all-female polyploid hybrid lineages.
Eurycea nana is a federally threatened, fully aquatic salamander found only in the spring-fed San Marcos River in Hays County, Texas, one of the smallest Eurycea species.
Eurycea longicauda is a lungless salamander of eastern North America whose tail can account for up to 65% of its total body length, among the highest ratios in the genus.
