How Do Lungless Salamanders Court And Woo Each Other?

Lungless salamanders may be shy and retiring, living under rocks and vegetation but they have a well developed ritual of courtship that goes before mating. This usually involves a lot of rubbing and nudging from the male. Male salamanders have glands on their head, body and tail that release secretions that stimulate the female to breed.

The secretions are probably rich in sex hormones and these diffuse through the skin of the female, causing the necessary changes in her body.

Species of woodland salamanders have an elaborate display which involves the male raising and lowering his limbs while he nudges the female with the gland under his chin.

Once courtship and mating are completed, the female salamander lays large, heavily yolked eggs in damp places to stop them drying out. In some species of lungless salamander the egg hatches to produce a miniature adult. In others, the egg hatches into a larva that later develops into an adult and in yet others, the egg hatches into a larva which then never achieves an adult form.