Galician fire salamander

Fire salamanders can be cannibalistic; the larvae eat each other in order to grow faster themselves

Discover in real life
Galician fire salamander

  • Habitat

    wooded areas in Europe

  • Food

    larvae, snails, worms and insects

  • Lifetime

    20 years

  • Weight

    55 grams

  • Length

    15 to 23 cm

  • Number of youngsters

    4 to 75

  • Incubation time

    unknown

  • IUCN status

    safe

  • EEP?

    no

20

years, that's how old a Portuguese fire salamander can get

23

centimeters, that's how big this fire salamander can get

75

boy, so many young can be birthed at once

Brightly colored

Fire salamanders are land dwellers, unlike their cousins the axolotls which live only in water. Fire salamanders are found throughout Europe, including the Netherlands. There are many different subspecies, in Aquazoo you can find the fire salamander. They live in wooded areas, where they like to live in burrows underground. Fire salamanders are very brightly colored, this is to deter enemies, they can be quite poisonous.

Cannibalistic larvae

Fire salamanders do not lay eggs but give birth to partially, or fully developed larvae. This is unique for amphibians. Between 4 and 75 young are given birth of which only a small proportion become adults. Indeed, fire salamanders can be cannibalistic; the larvae eat each other in order to grow faster themselves. Fire salamanders grow quite quickly to their adult form and are only in the larval stage for a short time.