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Distribution of Salamandridae
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- Taxonomy
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- Kingdom: Animalia
Phylum: Chordata
Subphylum: Vertebrata
Class: Amphibia
Subclass: Lissamphibia
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- Order: Caudata
- Suborder: Salamandroidea
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- Family: Salamandridae
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- I. Introduction
Salamandridae (about 55 species) includes the most "typical" examples of
salamanders although the
family is quite diverse. They have the largest range of the salamander families, living in North America, Europe, Asia and Africa. This family also contains the
newts, the group of salamanders that have a terrestrial
eft life stage after metamorphosing.
Salamandrids vary greatly in colour, some are brightly coloured to warn predators that the newt secretes toxins (an example of
aposematic colouration). They are typically slender and long-tailed, and have either smooth or rough skin. There are four fingers and either 4 or 5 toes. They have moveable eyelids and functional lungs are present, although they lack
costal grooves. There are established
paedomorphic populations of some species.
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- II. Members
There are no subfamilies
of Salamandridae, but 15
genera.
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- III. Further Information
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Last modified: Sunday, February 12, 2006
Sources:
- Halliday, T and K. Adler. 2002. Firefly Encylopedia of Reptiles and Amphibians. Firefly Books, Ltd.
- Livingunderworld.org | Amphibian Information Resource. 2005. JJ Miller. <http://www.livingunderworld.org/>
- RELATED LINKS
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