Salamanders are long, roundish-bodied AMPHIBIANS of the order Caudata. A salamander has four limbs, a long tail and round eyes with eyelids. It has neither eardrums nor claws. There are over 400 species of Salamanders in the world. They live mainly in warmer areas.

Canada has 21 species of salamander, divided into four families. The mudpuppy (Necturus maculosus) is the largest Canadian salamander. It lives in water and all its life it has three pairs of red gills on each side of its head.

Mole salamanders are quite chunky and spend most of their lives hidden in the ground or under logs. In spring, they migrate to nearby ponds where they reproduce. The eggs are attached to vegetation as jellylike masses. The larvae, like the adults, are carnivorous. The metamorphosis (change from larva to adult) is usually completed by summer's end. It is very gradual (unlike the FROG's rapid transformation).

The lungless salamanders consist mostly of small and quite slender species. Having no lungs, they breathe largely through their skin, which must always be moist. Therefore, these salamanders live on riverbanks or in wet forest locations. The forest-dwellers lay eggs from which miniature salamanders emerge, without passing through the larval stage.

Newts are salamanders that tend to be aquatic. Their slightly wrinkled skin contains toxins, which may help drive off predators. Poison glands are not the salamander's only defence. Many salamanders are able to break off their tails if a predator catches them. The tail continues to twitch for a short time and this causes a distraction that may allow the salamander to escape. The tail does grow back but it is usually shorter than the original.

All salamanders are harmless to human beings. They are helpful to the forestry and agriculture industries because of the insect pests they eat.