salamander

/ˌsæləˈmændər/

/ˈsæləmændə/

Other forms: salamanders

A salamander is a small amphibian that looks a lot like a lizard and lives mainly on land. They look cute in a terrarium and less cute on your bathroom floor.

Originally, the salamander was believed to have an amazing ability: that it could survive fire, and some said it lived in fire. That turned out to be a myth, but the salamander does possess the ability to live on land or in water, because it is an amphibian. Salamanders look a lot like lizards and a little like newts. They live most of the time on the land and only go into water when it's time to breed.

Definitions of salamander

1. noun

   any of various typically terrestrial amphibians that resemble lizards and that return to water only to breed
   types:

   European fire salamander, Salamandra salamandra

   a kind of European salamander

   Salamandra maculosa, fire salamander, spotted salamander

   European salamander having dark skin with usually yellow spots

   Salamandra atra, alpine salamander

   ovoviviparous amphibian of the Alps

   newt, triton

   small usually bright-colored semiaquatic salamanders of North America and Europe and northern Asia

   ambystomid, ambystomid salamander

   small to moderate-sized terrestrial or semiaquatic New World salamander

   Cryptobranchus alleganiensis, hellbender, mud puppy

   large salamander of North American rivers and streams

   Megalobatrachus maximus, giant salamander

   large (up to more than three feet) edible salamander of Asia

   Proteus anguinus, olm

   European aquatic salamander with permanent external gills that lives in caves

   Necturus maculosus, mud puppy

   aquatic North American salamander with red feathery external gills

   dicamptodon, dicamptodontid

   salamanders found near cold streams throughout the year

   Dicamptodon ensatus, Pacific giant salamander

   large (to 7 inches) salamander of western North America

   Rhyacotriton olympicus, olympic salamander

   small large-eyed semiaquatic salamander of the United States Northwest

   lungless salamander, plethodont

   mostly terrestrial salamanders that breathe through their thin moist skin; lay eggs in moist places on land; rarely enter water

   Plethodon cinereus, eastern red-backed salamander

   common salamander of eastern North America

   Plethodon vehiculum, western red-backed salamander

   salamander of the Pacific coast of North America

   dusky salamander

   common North American salamander mottled with dull brown or greyish-black

   climbing salamander

   any of several North American salamanders adapted for climbing with well-developed limbs and long somewhat squared-off toes

   slender salamander, worm salamander

   any of several small slim salamanders of the Pacific coast of the United States

   web-toed salamander

   any of several salamanders with webbed toes and very long extensile tongues; excellent climbers that move with ease over smooth rock surfaces

   amphiuma, blind eel, congo eel, congo snake

   aquatic eel-shaped salamander having two pairs of very small feet; of still muddy waters in the southern United States

   siren

   eellike aquatic North American salamander with small forelimbs and no hind limbs; have permanent external gills

   Triturus vulgaris, common newt

   small semiaquatic salamander

   Notophthalmus viridescens, red eft

   red terrestrial form of a common North American newt

   Pacific newt

   any of several rough-skinned newts found in western North America

   eft

   a newt in its terrestrial stage of development

   Ambystoma talpoideum, mole salamander

   brownish-black burrowing salamander of southeastern United States

   Ambystoma maculatum, spotted salamander

   glossy black North American salamander with yellow spots

   Ambystoma tigrinum, tiger salamander

   widely distributed brown or black North American salamander with vertical yellowish blotches

   Ambystoma mexicanum, axolotl, mud puppy

   larval salamander of mountain lakes of Mexico that usually lives without metamorphosing

   waterdog

   any of several large aquatic salamanders

   Aneides lugubris, arboreal salamander

   yellow-spotted brown salamander of California woodlands

   Hydromantes shastae, Shasta salamander

   primarily a cave dweller in the Mount Shasta area

   Hydromantes brunus, limestone salamander

   similar to Shasta salamander; lives in cliff crevices and taluses

   type of:

   amphibian

   cold-blooded vertebrate typically living on land but breeding in water; aquatic larvae undergo metamorphosis into adult form
2. noun

   reptilian creature supposed to live in fire
   type of:

   mythical creature, mythical monster

   a monster renowned in folklore and myth
3. noun

   fire iron consisting of a metal rod with a handle; used to stir a fire
   synonyms: fire hook, poker, stove poker

   type of:

   fire iron

   metal fireside implements