David
Element
Wildlife Photography and Digital Video Images
___________________________________________________
Amphibians 10 – Fire Salamanders
FIRE
SALAMANDER Salamandra salamandra
terrestris
FIRE
SALAMANDER Salamandra salamandra
terrestris
FIRE
SALAMANDER Salamandra salamandra
terrestris
FIRE
SALAMANDERS Salamandra salamandra terrestris
FIRE
SALAMANDERS Salamandra salamandra terrestris
FIRE
SALAMANDERS Salamandra salamandra terrestris
FIRE
SALAMANDERS Salamandra salamandra terrestris
·
The striking (and rather attractive) dark brownish-black
and bright yellow colour scheme of the Fire Salamander Salamandra salamandra terrestris
has a very specific purpose, namely the advertisement of its distastefulness to
would-be predators. As they usually seem to emerge from cover in quite precise
conditions after dark (usually high humidity following heavy rain) it is not
known how effective it might be – although they certainly show up well in
torchlight! They cannot move very fast and they are therefore particularly
vulnerable to being run over on the roads.
These amphibians are essentially terrestrial in their habits for most of
the year although they need to lay their eggs into water, often using small
ditches for this purpose. Pores in the paratoid glands situated behind the eyes and elsewhere on
the body are used to exude toxins as an effective deterrent against being
swallowed and these are most easily seen on the yellow-coloured areas. The
final four photographs are of a pair of males indulging in a very leisurely and
not obviously violent fight for mating rights. These Fire Salamanders were
photographed very near to the North Normandy coast during September 2017 and at
the time the animals appeared to be perfectly healthy. However, this location
is relatively close to areas in Belgium and Holland where a dreadful fungal
infection associated with the causative organism Batrachochytrium salamandrivorans has
decimated amphibian populations – see: https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Chytridiomycosis for
further information. At this point in time the photographer does not know if
this scourge has reached northern France. The consequences can be extremely
severe and local extinctions may occur, possibly mitigated only by
captive-breeding of these animals in isolation. Warm and humid conditions seem
to favour the spread of this fungus (which has been associated with global
warming) so perhaps the slightly cooler climate close to the coast could be
protective. One can but hope!
- David’s films of reptiles and amphibians
may be seen at: https://www.youtube.com/playlist?list=PL4AirIEc0Nodlcvlf7oYAJgJo8k7pHJ-A.
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