The Fire Salamander
Salamandra salamandra gigliolii

The typical environment in which these salamanders live is characterised by shade and high levels of humidity at an altitude included between sea level and 2000 metres in height.
They are extremely territorial and during their life they move very little from their chosen site.
They come out of their shelters, stones or trunks, only on very damp and rainy days.
The Fire Salamander is of a shiny black colour with large bright yellow spots.
The group of glands behind the head is a conspicuous feature.
The purpose of its bright colour is to warn predators that it is a particular salamander which does not need to hide as it has another weapon of defence: its skin is able to continuously extrude a heavy toxic secretion which burns the mucus membranes of the predator’s mouth.
It is easy to see this salamander when it is raining in the evening or at nightime.
During the hottest hours of the day the Fire Salamander protects itself from the dryness by hiding in shady cracks in the earth.
This salamander can be observed from the spring to late autumn.
It is mainly distributed in broad-leaved woods.
Although it is an amphibian resistant to the cold, during the winter it hides in cracks and ravines under the ground.