SUPER SALAMANDERS
What are salamanders?
Living beneath trees, leaves, rocks, and in ponds, these tiny creatures can be found all over our forests.
Salamanders are amphibians, which means they breathe through their skin and live at least part of their lives in water. Frogs, toads, salamanders, and newts are all amphibians!
Salamanders have slender bodies, long tails, and moist skin. Although they look like lizards, they lack scales and have smooth skin. These remarkable creatures typically have four legs and can be found in our forests, wetlands, and streams. Salamanders come in a variety of colors, from warm browns to spotted pinks to bright oranges!
Salamanders are found around the world! The largest one is the Chinese giant salamander (Andrias davidianus) which reaches lengths of up to 6 feet long, and weighs over 130 pounds. On the other end of the spectrum, the Thorius arboreus, also known as the minute salamander, is the smallest salamander species, typically growing to be around 1.3-2.7 centimeters (0.5-1.1 inches) in length.
Let's explore the lives of these little critters!
An all terrain vehicle
Salamanders start out as tiny larva living in ponds and breathing water. As they become adults, they grow limbs. Some species of salamanders stay in the pond their whole lives, and some change to be able to breathe air and live on land completely.
What makes salamanders special?
They have developed so many awesome adaptations to survive! Click through the zine to learn about a few.
You can also download the
readable version and
printable version.
Where do salamanders hide?
They like to hide in damp, dark environments to stay safe from predators and keep their skin wet (which is essential for them to be able to breathe properly as an amphibian). Let's see a few places they might hang out.
Hunting on the forest floor
On the damp forest floors, insects are busy eating fallen leaves and breaking them down into soil. Salamanders prey on these insects, and in turn slow down the decay of fallen leaves. By keeping leaves on the forest floor a bit longer, we keep more carbon stored away. When carbon is released into the air, it traps heat and contributes to global warming.
Did you know that salamanders keep 80 tons of carbon stored on the forest floor every year? It's equivalent to a car driving 650,000 miles! Wow! These little guys are having a big impact.
Where can we find salamanders in Tacoma?
Here are a few places we've seen salamanders in Tacoma. Where else do you think they could be?
Let's meet the locals!
Washington has 14 different types of salamanders, here are a few that you might find in Tacoma!
Hover over the image to learn a bit more.
Craft Time: Origami Salamander
Yes, it is true that these are technically instructions for an origami lizard... but doesn't its shape resemble some of our local salamanders? I wonder if we can color it in to look a bit more like one of the critters pictured above.
Super Salamander Word Search
Click and drag on the letters below to highlight the words you have found! Refresh the page to scramble the letters again.
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Come on a stroll with us!
We invite families out in Tacoma and the surrounding areas to learn a bit more about where we live in these family friendly walks with the Tacoma Tree Foundation. Check out our calendar with the adults in your life and see if there are any upcoming events you all want to come to.
Nature Explorers is a project of
Tacoma Tree Foundation. © 2020-2021