Lizards have dry, scaly skin like their relatives, the turtles and snakes. There are no lizards in the Maritime Provinces. Salamanders are common. Nova Scotia has five species, while 336 species are known in the world. But because of their secretive way of life, most of us notice salamanders only in spring, when they wake up from winter hibernation and migrate to breeding ponds.
Salamanders eat a variety of insects, worms, snails, spiders and slugs.
They use sight and smell to find prey. Our salamanders make no sounds and cannot hear, although they do feel vibrations in the ground with their forelegs and lower jaw. Salamanders can regrow their legs or tail if these are bitten off by a predator. Males court females with an underwater dance. If she is receptive, she takes the spermatophore and holds it in her abdomen until egg-laying time.