If you’ve caved long enough
you already know that the true rulers of caves are salamanders in all their
glory. This
will tell you about
1. Salamander basics, 2. True cave salamanders in the U.S., including those
in
Oklahoma that you might encounter, and 3. Major salamanders in Oklahoma that
use caves on occasion.
SALAMANDERS 101
Salamanders are amphibians,
belonging to the class of Amphibia and order of Urodeles. Their four limbs
have hands
that have four
fingers and feet that have five toes. Their skin is naked, although their
upper skin layer may molt and produce such horned structures as claws, thorns,
pads,
horned teeth, and horned jaws. Their lower skin layer produces slime, and
poison in some, and contains the “chromatophore” cells that allow them to
change colors to match their environment, or to warn their enemies, or to
attract potential mates. Their skulls are flat and wide, and they have true
teeth in their jaws and the roof of their mouths. These teeth don’t have roots
and are replaced continuously. Different types of salamanders breathe through
gills and/or lungs and/or the skin of their body and/or the skin of their mouths.
Usually the young breathe through gills; then their gills shrink as they begin
breathing through lungs. But some types of salamanders can retain all of these
methods of breathing. Eyesight can be well developed in all but cave
salamanders that have only vestigial eyes or are blind. They also have a good
sense of smell, and those that live primarily in water have a well-developed
“lateral line system” method of sensing the presence of other creatures in
water. They reproduce sexually, fertilizing externally or internally. Most lays
eggs, their young hatching as gill-breathing larvae that undergo metamorphosis
to become adults. But some (Alpine salamanders) give birth to live young, and
others lay large-yolk eggs in which their young have already begun developing,
and their complete metamorphosis can occur within the egg (“ovoviviparity”).
They exist in every climate over the world except regions that are covered with
snow year round. They can tolerate cold—the Siberian salamander has been
found safely buried and alive at depths of up to 40 feet in permafrost. They
have a low metabolic rate and demand for oxygen. Only a few salamanders are
capable of producing a sound. The greatest concentration of salamander species
and populations is in the warm, wet tropics, which is the humid environment
best suited for them. All salamanders have to stay moist, hence they live
in fresh water (only a few have adapted to salt water), the borders between
land and water, and/or areas that are moist, including caves. Some bury
themselves underground for months during dry periods. They absorb moisture
through their skin, and with few exceptions, can’t drink. Most are nocturnal or
most active at dusk, and are only active during the day if it’s raining or very
humid or if they live in caves. They eat smaller animals and animal matter.
Research has shown that salamanders are capable of the elementary learning
necessary for them to be able to find their way home again after being far
removed. Such “homing” behavior is most apparent in their returning to the same
spawning grounds year after year, which can be distant from where they live.
They control their body temperature by their choice of where they rest and
live, this control of body warmth being something they do both day and night.
Metamorphosis usually takes place in response to changes in their external
environment. At this time most salamanders lose their gills. But some
salamanders remain in their larval form all their lives, even though they
mature and breed. This is known as neoteny, and such a salamander is known as
an axolotl. Some salamanders change only partially. Common to all types of
metamorphosis, including that which can occur while still in an egg, is the
requirement that their thyroids be fully functioning. If not, the salamander
won’t undergo metamorphosis. The life expectancy of salamanders depends on
their environment, and ranges from a few months to ten years. In captivity
they can live to twenty or more years.
Salamander
tunnels – underpasses
for salamander crossing beneath roads. This structure in Massachusetts,
but could be used anywhere… (
http://www.fhwa.dot.gov/environment/wildlifecrossings/salamand.htm)
MAJOR CAVE SALAMANDERS IN THE U.S.
True cave salamanders live
in caves all or most of their lives, perhaps foraging outside of their cave
homes when
or if conditions
outside it are moist enough, but soon returning to
them.
OTHER SALAMANDERS THAT USE CAVES IN OKLAHOMA
Any salamander can use
a cave, especially its entrance, for shelter, hunting, drinking, or escaping
from the effects
of an arid climate
or from a predator. But these are the more common salamanders that use caves
that we may encounter in Oklahoma’s caves.
NOTE ON SOURCES
Nothing
in this report is original, but is synthesized from a number of sources. This
article claims to be nothing more than a “made-simple” report
about salamanders whose only purpose is be helpful to gypsum cavers and other
cavers in Oklahoma.
LivingUnderWorld.org.
Photo Gallery: Caudata -
This is the most complete online worldwide guide to salamanders.
http://www.livingunderworld.org/caudata/
Oklahoma
Department of Wildlife Conservation. A
Field Guide to Amphibians of Oklahoma by
Jeffrey Black and Gregory Sievert. The Department, 1989. 80p.
This
is the best guide to Oklahoma’s salamanders, and notes
the field sightings of many salamanders that, according to some scholarly
sources, don’t exist in Oklahoma.
Oklahoma
Department of Wildlife Conservation. A
Field Guide to Oklahoma's Amphibians and Reptiles by Greg and Lynnette Sievert. The Department,
2005. 205p.Update of 1989
edition, enlarged to include snakes, alligators, turtles, and lizards.
U.S. Geological Survey. Northern Prairie Wildlife Research
Center. Checklist of Amphibian Species and Identification Guide; An Online Guide
for the Identification of Amphibians in North America North of Mexico.
http://www.npwrc.usgs.gov/narcam/idguide/index.htm
- caud
(
This online guide needs a lot of work. )
U.S.Geological Survey.
Patuxent Wildlife Research Center. National Amphibian Atlas
http://igsaceeswb00.er.usgs.gov:8080/mapserver/naa/
(
This
maps general salamander locations only—no photos,
no descriptions )
Privately published sources not identified.
* This is a COG Internet-only publication
* Note: you can’t depend on English names for salamanders
because they vary, but you can depend on their Latin names.
* All links checked on March 2008
Steve Beleu, Central Oklahoma
Grotto, January 16, 2004 – Revised March
6, 2008
