What is a salamander?

A salamander is amphibian – an animal that lives both on land and in the water. It is a lizard-like member of a group of back-bones creatures between fish and reptiles. This class includes frogs and toads. Like fish and reptiles, the salamander is cold-blooded.

It was anciently believed that the first salamander was born out of the heart of a fire and that the so-called fire salamanders were unaffected by heat. In fact, the salamander is active usually only in the cool of the night, when it hunts worms, slugs and insects.

The salamander, which grows up to about 11 inches long, is attacked by few enemies, as its skin glands are poisonous. But the European water snake is not affected by the venom and frequently makes the salamander its prey.