It has neither lungs nor gills, but absorbs oxygen through tiny blood vessels in the mouth and skin. It breaks a lot of the rules about amphibian lifestyle, leading an entirely terrestrial life and even laying eggs on land. They go through their gilled aquatic stage in the eggs and gills usually disappear before they hatch. Also unlike other amphibians, the female protects the eggs and keeps them moist with her body. The young may even remain with their mother for a few weeks after they hatch.
Adults use scent marks to establish territorial boundaries.
During dry conditions, they may open their boundaries to juvenile kin, who they identify by scent. The first vertebrate animals to walk on dry land probably most closely resembled modern salamanders. Superficially, they still look much like fish with legs. But since they conquered the continents 300 million years ago, they have followed a variety of evolutionary paths. It may be surprising to learn that salamanders are the most diverse group of reptiles and amphibians in North America, with about 140 species.