Fire Salamander

The fire salamander is a striking amphibian native to forested hills and mountains across much of central and southern Europe, easily recognized by its glossy black skin marked with bold yellow or orange spots and stripes, a warning coloration that signals the toxic, irritating secretions produced by glands in its skin. It is mainly nocturnal and spends much of the day hidden under logs, rocks or leaf litter in cool, damp forest habitats, emerging at night, especially after rain, to hunt insects, worms, slugs and other small invertebrates. Unlike many amphibians, fire salamanders typically give birth to live, fully formed larvae directly into streams or pools rather than laying eggs on land. The species can live for several decades in the wild, but populations in parts of its range have been severely affected in recent years by an introduced fungal disease, chytridiomycosis, that has caused local die-offs and extinctions.