What Do Salamanders Eat?

The species classified under the aquatic salamander families entirely live in water, especially water bodies that have high oxygen content. An excellent example of a salamander species under this category is the common mudpuppy.

Mudpuppies inhabit rivers, perennial streams, large lakes, and ponds with weeds.

The species classified under this category need water for reproduction. A good example of species considered under this type of salamanders includes the red salamander, tiger salamander, and the gold-striped salamander.

The red salamander inhabits the areas around or in slow-moving cold springs and streams. The tiger salamanders inhabit deep burrows, fields next to ponds, lakes, or slow-moving streams.

The gold-striped salamanders inhabit regions with mild temperatures and high relative moisture, especially along the shores of mountain rivers, near marshes, and deciduous woods.

This type of salamanders is different from the semi-aquatic ones because they do not need an aquatic environment for reproduction.

A notable example of this category of salamanders is the clouded salamander, which inhabits forest edges which are damp and mossy. They can also be found in clearings.

Hunting is a dynamic process for salamanders. They can detect their prey by sensing through the sound wave vibrations, which is facilitated by the presence of sensory nodes on their bodies.

• Visual senses also come in handy for a majority of salamanders. Most species are nocturnal and so their excellent night vision gives them an edge during hunting.
• Upon detecting their prey, which may include earthworms, ants, and other small organisms which they can eat, salamanders capture them with the use of the sideways snap of their jaws.
• Salamanders with the example of the Chinese giant salamander use the sit-and-wait strategy to stalk their prey (which often is a fish, small amphibian, or a small mammal). They then bite their prey before proceeding to consume it.

Salamanders tend to be more active during the cool periods of the day, and a majority of them are nocturnal. During the day they can be found under rocks and in trees. They often come out at night to eat.

Salamanders will eat depending on the season, type of food, and availability of food. For instance, during winter, they tend to eat less when compared to summer.

• Examples of animals that eat salamanders include predatory fish (crayfish), damselfly larvae (feed on juveniles), giant water bug, and other salamanders.
• Other organisms that predate on salamanders include predatory snakes, birds, and mammals like humans, raccoons, opossums, coyotes, and badgers.

Salamanders are essential to the animal food chain. Their role as predators of a myriad of arthropods is instrumental in maintaining the health of forests by regulating the population of these small organisms.

Salamanders also provide food to numerous organisms in the animal food chain, thus promoting their survival.