Siberian salamander

Distribution

Species range provided by WWF's Wildfinder.

Habitats

The following habitats are found across the Siberian salamander distribution range. Find out more about these environments, what it takes to live there and what else inhabits them.

• Marsh
• Taiga
• Temperate grassland
• Tundra

Behaviours

Discover what these behaviours are and how different plants and animals use them.

• Adapted to swimming
• Hibernation
• Metamorphosis
• Egg layer
• Active at birth
• Cold tolerant
• Chemical communication
• Spawning
• Territorial
• Torpor
• Visual communication

About

The Siberian salamander, Salamandrella keyserlingii, is a species of salamander found in Northeast Asia. It is found primarily in Siberia, in wet woods and riparian groves. There are also outlying populations in northern Kazakhstan and Mongolia, and also in northeastern China and on the Korean Peninsula. It is believed extirpated from South Korea. An isolated population exists on Hokkaidō, Japan, in the Kushiro Shitsugen National Park. A breeding-ground of Siberian salamanders in Paegam, South Hamgyong, is designated North Korean natural monument #360.

Adults are from 9 to 12.5 centimeters in length. Their bodies are bluish-brown in color, with a purple stripe along the back. There are thin dark brown stripes between and around the eyes, and also sometimes on the tail. There are four clawless toes on each foot. The tail is longer than the body.

A single egg sac contains 50-80 eggs on average, with a single female typically laying up to 240 eggs in a season. The light-brown eggs hatch three to four weeks after being laid, releasing larval salamanders of 11-12 mm in length.

The species is known for surviving deep freezes (as low as -45°C). In some cases they have been known to remain frozen in permafrost for years, and upon thawing, walking off.

Read more at Wikipedia