Salamandra salamandra - Fire Salamander

Adaptation

Fire salamanders possess very unique specialized adaptations to ensure they are best suited for their environment.

Fire salamanders are nocturnal, meaning they are active at night.  During the daytime, fire salamanders will remain hidden in crevices and logs in order to avoid any predators.  They may also come out of hiding around dusk or during a rainy day.  At night, they will do all of their hunting and eating.

The bright coloration of the fire salamander is also an adaptation, signaling to predators that this organism is venomous and to stay away from it.  The venom is secreted through the parotid glands in the skin behind their eyes and will cause instant harm to any predator that tries to attack the fire salamander.                                   

The fire salamander also possesses certain specialized body parts that are vital for the organism’s protection.  The fire salamander’s tail is mainly used for balance.  However, it can also act as a defense mechanism.  If a predator is attacking a fire salamander and has taken hold of it by the tail, the tail will easily detach from the body and continue to wiggle and move. This allows time for the fire salamander to escape the predator. Eventually, the fire salamander will regenerate its tail; this is an adaptation that is also seen in sponges and starfish.

Hibernation 

Most often when you think of hibernation, you will think about bears or small rodents.  However, salamanders are another creature to hibernate in the colder months of winter.  Fire salamanders are very sensitive to temperature changes.  In the cool months of October through March they will hibernate, and in the hotter months of July and August, they will drastically decrease their activity levels.  Hibernation is completely dependent on the temperature of the environment.  For instance, if a fire salamander lives in a region of unchanging, optimal temperature, there is no requirement to hibernate. However, if they do need to hibernate, they will do so underground, often in large groups with up to fifty members.  Interestingly enough, when choosing the location of hibernation, fire salamanders will often return to the exact same location year after year.  This is due to a behavioral mechanism called homing.  Homing is when an organism uses specific landmarks in order to orient themselves with their surroundings.   

 

After taking a look at all of these specialized adaptations, let us now move on to their Nutrition.

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