LYCOS RETRIEVER 
Salamander: Water
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Salamander eggs are laid in the water. When they hatch, the larvae breathe with gills and swim. As they mature, they develop lungs for breathing air and go onto the land, but remain in the water.
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Most salamander species hatch from eggs. Female salamanders that live entirely in the water lay more eggs—up to 450—than those that spend some time on land. The California newt Taricha torosa lays a clump of 7 to 30 eggs on underwater plants or exposed roots. The eggs are protected by a toxic gel-like membrane. Lungless salamanders such as the spiny salamander Plethodon sp. are devoted parents that share egg-guarding duties. They curl their bodies around the eggs and turn them over from time to time.
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The tiger salamander is part of the "mole salamander" family, so named because they spend much of their life underground. Although known to live up to 20 years, the average life span is between 8 and 10 years. These salamanders are usually found around water, and live in crevices, under decayed logs, under leaf litter, or in abandoned animal holes. Their diet includes grasshoppers, moths, flies, spiders, beetles, fish, earthworms, mollusks, and the occasional small mouse.
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The blind salamander is an active predator. It moves its head from side to side as it searches for food on the bottom. It hunts animal food by sensing water pressure waves created by prey in the still underground waters where it lives. Tiny snails, shrimp, and other aquatic invertebrates make up its diet. Reproduction occurs year round. It is unknown how many Texas blind salamanders exist.
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Many salamander larvae undergo a transformation called metamorphosis, in which their bodies change in ways that make them better suited to life on land than life in the water. During metamorphosis, the larvae of most species lose their gills and acquire a pair of saclike lungs. The heart transforms from the two-chambered heart needed to support gills to a three-chambered heart capable of supporting lungs. The larvae ... grow limbs, eyelids, and well-developed tongues.
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An aquatic salamander lurks around in the water until something of its liking comes along. Its mouth then snaps open so quickly that the prey and water surrounding it goes rushing into the salamander's mouth. When it closes its mouth it swallows the treat. A terrestrial salamander obviously does things differently because it lives on land. Sometimes it just waits for its prey to come along. Most of the time, it actively hunts for its prey.
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