Salamanders and Newts

As promised, our species comparison series returns to the world of herps. A few weeks ago we looked at turtles, tortoises, and terrapins, which are all reptiles. This week we’ll explore the differences between salamanders and newts, which are both amphibians.

Before going into the differences between salamanders and newts, let’s have a look at the differences between reptiles and amphibians. Both are cold blooded and can spend time on land or in water. Reptiles, however, spend more time on land generally. They breathe exclusively with lungs (some turtles are the exception, because nature hates following a hard rule). Amphibians spend more time in the water, generally, and can breathe air on the surface or below water, using their smooth, moist skin to exchange gases in many cases. Reptiles have dry, scaly skin that doesn’t breathe. Reptiles lay soft eggs on land, while amphibians prefer to lay their eggs in the water, usually in a gelatinous mass.

Rough-skinned newt

 Just as tortoises and terrapins are turtles but not all turtles are tortoises or terrapins, all newts are salamanders but not all salamanders are newts. Newts are a type of salamanders that prefer to spend most of their time living on land. Some lay eggs in the water, some on land. Some go through stages of development from larva to adult, some are just miniature versions of adults. Some salamanders have lungs, some have gills, some have both, and some have neither. There is much variety in the salamander’s order, so spotting the differences between salamanders and newts is difficult. A general rule is to look at the skin. Frog-like skin, which is smooth and wet, is a salamander. Toad-like skin, dry and warty, is a newt.

Northwestern salamander (USFWS)

A third critter thrown into the mix, also a member of the salamander order, is the siren. It looks and behaves like the salamander and newt, but instead of having four legs it only has two. Sirens have flat tails that they use for swimming, moving it from side to side like a fish does.

Greater siren (University of Georgia)

Are you confused by all this? Don’t worry about. I’m learning right along with you. Fortunately for you, all these technical terms and differences are merely to satisfy your curiosity; for me it’s a career choice. We’ll wrap up this series next week and leave the natural world for the labs and halls of scholarly debate. This week’s information comes from the SanDiego Zoo.