Amphibians
Spectacled Salamander
Salamandrina perspicillata · also called spectacled salamander, northern spectacled salamander
The spectacled salamander is a small, matte-black amphibian from the forests of Italy, and from above it looks almost drab — dull dark brown with a pale mark like a pair of spectacles between its eyes. But it is keeping a secret. Grab it, and it curls its tail up over its back and flashes the bright crimson underside, then goes stiff and plays dead.
Overview
The spectacled salamander lives in broadleaf forest with cool, clean streams across peninsular Italy. It is slender and only 7–11 cm long, blackish-brown above with a pale reddish spectacle-shaped mark on the head, and bright crimson to pink on the undersides of the tail, legs, and feet. It hunts springtails, mites, and other tiny invertebrates in the leaf litter.
The display
Threatened, it freezes, then arches its body and curls its tail up and forward over its back to expose the red undersides as a warning, and if pressed it goes completely rigid and plays dead. The tail base can snap off if a predator grabs it, and regrows later.
No lungs, and a lineage of two
Like the American lungless salamanders it has no lungs and breathes through its skin. Its genus, Salamandrina, contains only two species, both found only in Italy, on an old, isolated branch of the salamander family — which makes the lineage a conservation priority.
Status
The spectacled salamander is Least Concern, widespread through Italy’s forested hills, though individual populations are small and depend on the woodland streams where the larvae develop. It has only four toes on each hind foot, one fewer than most salamanders.
Spectacled Salamander: common questions
Why is it called the spectacled salamander?
Because of the marking on its head. On top of the skull, between and just behind the eyes, most individuals carry a pale patch, often reddish or yellowish, shaped like a V or like a pair of joined rings. To early naturalists this looked like a pair of spectacles perched on the animal's face, and the name stuck in several languages. The mark is one of the few splashes of colour on an otherwise dull, matte, blackish-brown salamander when it is seen from above, the rest of the bright colour being hidden underneath.
What does it do when it is attacked?
It puts on a display that combines warning colour with playing dead. First it freezes in place, relying on its dark, dull upper surface to blend into wet leaf litter. If that fails and it is prodded or seized, it arches its body, lifts its tail up and curls it forward over its back, and flexes its limbs upward, all of which brings the vivid red and pink undersides into view as a signal that the animal is distasteful. Pushed further, it goes limp and rigid and plays dead, sometimes with the tail still curled to keep the colours showing, and it can also shed its tail if a predator has hold of it.
Is the spectacled salamander poisonous?
It has mildly toxic and distasteful skin secretions, which is what the red warning colours advertise, but it is nowhere near as potent as its relative the fire salamander, and it is not dangerous to a person who handles it gently and washes their hands. The secretions are aimed at deterring shrews, snakes, and ground beetles, the salamander's main predators. As with any amphibian, handling should be brief, with clean wet hands, and one should avoid touching the eyes or mouth afterward, both for safety and to protect the animal's delicate skin.
Why does it matter that there are only two species in its genus?
Because the genus represents a long, separate branch of salamander evolution with very few living twigs. When a group like this is reduced to just one or two species, each one carries a large and irreplaceable share of that branch's genetic and biological history, so losing it would erase far more evolutionary distinctiveness than losing one member of a large, diverse group. The spectacled salamanders are also found only in Italy, so the whole lineage's survival depends on a single country's forests and streams, which is why Italian and European conservation efforts pay it particular attention.