Salamanders get Frozen 2

Posted on November 23, 2019 by Andrew Gray

Many species of salamander survive at temperatures below freezing, including one from Siberia which is known for surviving deep freezes as low as −45 °C. That is seriously cold! In some cases, they have been known to remain frozen in permafrost for years, and upon thawing, simply walking off – slowly 🙂 Western and central European Fire Salamanders remain active even at temperatures as low as 1 °C, as Kasia here can testify to recently.

These cold blooded amphibians are masters at survival and have developed many adaptations to stay alive. All species secrete toxins over their skin that are poisonous to some extent if ingested. Some of the poisons possess tetrodotoxin, one of the most potent toxins known to science and more toxic than found in most poison-dart frogs. The toxicity varies depending on the species and the juveniles of many salamanders have toxins in their skin more potent than when they are adult. Interestingly, both temperature tolerance and skin toxicity in salamanders can also vary within the same species, depending on which population they come from. Fire Salamanders, Salamandra salamandra, are found in most of southern and central Europe, most commonly at altitudes between 250 and 1,000 metres.

Here’s a related clip for Sylvia and our younger followers..