Wildlife
Lungless salamanders are the world's largest and most diverse family of salamanders. As their name suggests, none of them possess lungs. Instead they breathe through their skin. To aid this these salamanders usually live in damp and humid areas where the skin can be kept moist.
Scientific name: Plethodontidae
Rank: Family
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Inventing the wheel
The salamander and pearl moth caterpillar curl up and roll out of harm's way.
The salamander and pearl moth caterpillar curl up and roll out of harm's way.
The shading illustrates the diversity of this group - the darker the colour the greater the number of species. Data provided by WWF's Wildfinder.
The Lungless salamanders can be found in a number of locations including: North America, South America. Find out more about these places and what else lives there.
The Plethodontidae, or Lungless salamanders, are a family of salamanders. Most species are native to the western hemisphere, from British Columbia to Brazil, although a few species are found in Sardinia, Europe south of the Alps, and South Korea. In terms of number of species, they are by far the largest group of salamanders.
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