Siberian Salamander

Salamandrella keyserlingii can tolerate much of its body water freezing during winter by using protective compounds that limit cellular damage. This adaptation allows it to survive in the severe climates of Siberia and the Russian Far East.

It inhabits regions underlain by permafrost, but living animals normally overwinter in protected terrestrial shelters rather than remaining active inside permanently frozen ground. Reports of ancient salamanders reviving after long periods frozen in permafrost should be treated cautiously.

Its distribution stretches across northern Eurasia from European Russia through Siberia to the Russian Far East. Populations also occur in northern Mongolia, northeastern China, Korea, and Japan's Hokkaido region.

Adults migrate to shallow ponds, flooded areas, and slow water after snowmelt. Females attach distinctive paired egg sacs to submerged vegetation or other supports.