| lungless salamander | |
noun | |
| mostly terrestrial salamanders that breathe through their thin moist skin; lay eggs in moist places on land; rarely enter water |
lungless salamander
any of more than 370 species of lungless amphibians dependent largely on cutaneous respiration (gas exchange through moistened skin). Plethodontidae is the largest group of salamanders, and its members occur predominantly in the Americas from southern Canada to the Amazon basin in Brazil. A few species also occur spottily in Sardinia, northern Italy, and the Korean peninsula. Adult plethodontids range in size from approximately 25 mm (1 inch) in head and body length in the Mexican pygmy salamander (Thorius) to 36 cm (14 inches) in Bell's false brook salamander (Pseudoeurycea bellii). The length of the animal's tail usually equals or slightly exceeds its head and body length. Most plethodontid species are between 40 and 120 mm (1.6 and 4.7 inches) in head and body length. Since they lack lungs, all plethodontids breathe through their skin and the mucous membrane in the mouth and throat; these surfaces must remain moist at all times in order to absorb oxygen.
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