Red Salamander - Lungless Tritons

The red salamander, also called the red triton, is one of many species that make up the Plethodontidae family. These particular members are lungless tritons, as they have no lungs and they breathe through their skin! Yeah, that sounds sort of weird, eh? A certain number of the plethodontids live permanently in the water, but most live on land. The red salamander can be found in humid areas among the moss, dead leaves of the undergrowth, etc. They usually emerge at night and generally avoid the light of day, which makes them a little harder to spot. I rarely see these things, but I did happen to walk up on one in the garage the other night. It is a colorful little devil; looked just like the one in the image above. Oh, these things are poisonous (most salamanders are), as well, so try to avoid eating (yuck!) or playing with them very much.  If you touch their toxic secretions while handling them, then go to your eyes, nose, mouth, well, you get the drift... I think that may be why whenever I see an outdoor domesticated cat eat any type of salamander-like creature, they always end up throwing it up later.

Side Note: These critters evidently have a lot of names and even though salamander is broad term for all of the species, I have read about several different types of names (one is included in this title).  For example, some of the many names include: olm, newt, axolotl, spring lizard, siren, mud puppy, water dog, hellbender, Congo eel, and triton.

Anyway, back to the red version of this lungless amphibian... They are sensitive to dehydration and will die if they stay out in the sun very long. Upon reaching adulthood, they loose their gills without them being replaced with lungs. The particular texture of their skin and the interior of the buccal cavity (vestibule of the mouth) allows this odd creature to breathe without lungs or gills. Anyway, I just thought I'd share these tidbits today. Mother Nature has so many interesting creatures out there with various types of unique traits. I like to read about them on occasions...

Image Credit: en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Red_Salamander

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