Salamanders

The sapient species known today simply as the Salamander is one of an entire genus of similar, non-sapient salamander species. To differentiate, Salamanders are sometimes called Salamanderfolk or Newtfolk, as opposed to lowercase-s "salamanders."'
Salamanders appear to have a natural or instinctive affinity for magic performed on the Fire-Water Continuum, and the vast major of Salamander cultures have developed their religious traditions around performing acts of magic along this continuum. It is widely believed that this affinity is due to the fact that they live exclusively in water during their childhood, and remain close to water throughout their lives.

Basic Information

Anatomy

Salamanders are large amphibians with a lizardlike appearance, consisting of a long, slender abdomen, short limbs, and a long muscular tail. They have three fingers and an opposable thumb on their forelimbs and five splayed toes on their hindlimbs. Salamander locomotion may be either bipedal or quadrupedal on land; both methods are equally comfortable for Salamanders, and they may switch between bipedalism and quadrupedalism depending on the activity. Although somewhat slow on land, Salamanders are powerful swimmers, using their long, powerful tails as a an oar to push them through the water.
Salamander skin, like that of all amphibians, is semi-permeable to water and is used as a secondary respiratory membrane. It is shiny and moist to the touch, thanks to specialized mucus glands located throughout the body. They shed their skins approximately once or twice a year, depending on their age and health.

Genetics and Reproduction

Male Salamanders produce a spermatophore which the female then takes into her cloaca during the act of amplexus. The eggs are fertilized internally, and gestate inside the mother's body until they are ready to hatch. Gestation generally lasts approximately four months, after which the mother gives birth to the live young in a shallow, slow-moving birthing pool.

Growth Rate & Stages

Salamanders are born as tadpoles, which are similar in appearance to long, thin fish, with fins on the dorsal and ventral sides and three pairs of external gills. They possess tiny limb buds, which slowly develop into full limbs over time.
Generally speaking, tadpoles grow their hind limbs first, which are fully developed by two years of age. This is then followed by forelimb development, usually complete by 5 or 6 years, and then the shrinkage and loss of tail fins at around ten years old.
Up until the development of the lungs (and subsequent loss of the gills) Salamander tadpoles are unable to speak conventionally. Since this development generally does not begin until around 13 or 14, and may not be fully completed until 18 to 20 years of age, depending on ethnicitiy, the vast majority of native Salamander languages are actually signed languages. Their spoken languages are almost always the languages of humans or Ground Owls, which they have borrowed for ease of communication with outsiders.

Ecology and Habitats

Salamanders always create their settlements near plentiful sources of freshwater. Most of the largest Salamander population centers are located in wetlands such as swamps, marshes, bogs and fens, although they are also often found built into or over large rivers and lakes. Different cultures have developed different architectural styles, but almost all Salamander settlements incorporate both above-water or "dry" portions of a settlement, along with underwater "wet" portions. This often results in a two-tiered "floating village," in which the dry areas are built directly above the wet parts of a settlement.
Large Salamander settlements often artificially expand the lakes or wetlands where they are located via the creation of dams. Among the most famous of such settlements is (SalamanderMarshCity), which started in a combined lake and marsh area of less than 50km², but has since grown to an area of over 1500km², with thousands of square kilometers of nearby wetland suburbs.
Because of their skill with underwater construction, Salamanders are often hired for the creation of large-scale underwater projects by humans and other species, such as bridges, docks, and dams.

Dietary Needs and Habits

Young Salamanders require a primarily carnivorous diet. Across the world, fish and insects are the preferred diet for tadpoles, though some cultures also feed their children red meat and poultry. As they mature, Salamanders develop the ability to digest plant material as well, becoming fully omnivorous, although in ancient times and in many parts of the world in the modern day, most of a Salamander diet still consists of fish, roe, and insect larvae, with fruits, vegetables, grains, and nuts making up a much smaller portion than would be considered normal for humans.
Since Salamander settlements are based around large bodies of fresh water, Salamander agriculture often is usually built around a flooded paddy, with a focus on production of water-loving plants such as rice, taro, lotus, watercress, and waterchestnuts. Water-tolerant cultivars of many other fruits and vegetables have been selectively bred by Salamander agriculturalists, and Salamander cultures are credited with the first development of hydroponics.

Additional Information

Social Structure

Like humans, salamanders have a complex and highly civilized social structure, which varies from culture to culture.

Geographic Origin and Distribution

It is currently believed that salamander evolution began in the temperate rainforests and maritime climates of (NorthernSubcontinent), and spread south and east across (Supercontinent) and along boats to the archipelagos of (NorthernArchipelago) and (SouthernArchipelago). Because Salamander tadpoles require large amounts of liquid water available year-round, there are no native arctic Salamander peoples.
Salamanders have only recently emigrated to (Continent), after the development of ocean-going vessels by human beings, while humans, Ground Owls, and Lightning Bugs all made the migration prior to the development of such technology. Humans, Ground Owls, and Lightning Bugs all traveled to the other continent across land bridges during the last glacial maximum; an undertaking which Salamander cultures could not have completed, due to tadpoles' need for liquid water.

Average Intelligence

Salamanders are among the four sapient species of the planet, just as intelligent as humans, Ground Owls, and Lightning Bugs.

Perception and Sensory Capabilities

Because of their amphibious lifestyle, Salamanders corneas must be equally adapted for water and air, which means that Salamanders are farsighted underwater and nearsighted above water. However, they have excellent color vision, and can even seen into the ultraviolet range. In the modern day, the use of corrective lenses while on dry land is becoming more and more common.
Like all amphibians, Salamanders lack an eardrum or eustachean tube, but instead detect sound using the opercularis system, which is made up of specialized bone structures related to the same bones responsible for hearing in mammals. This system is well-developed for low-frequency noises, and much less effective at detecting higher-frequency noises, which means many Salamanders have difficult discerning certain parts of human speech. On top of that, the opercularis system only functions when the opercularis muscle is tensed, so Salamanders are capable of voluntarily "switching off" their hearing.

Civilization and Culture

Common Dress Code

Salamanders generally prefer not to wear too much clothing, as their amphibious lifestyles mean clothes would be constantly waterlogged, which could weigh them down or even pose a risk of drowning. Groups that do habitually wear clothing tend to stick to simple loincloths and hats, although in some parts of the world, fuller, more human-like clothing has become popular.

Salamander Portrait by Erienne McCray

Also known as

Salamanderfolk, Newtfolk

Scientific Name

Salamandra sapiens

Lifespan

75 years

Average Height

109cm-124cm (3.6-4.1 ft)

Average Weight

18-24kg

Body Tint, Colouring and Marking

Salamanders generally have black or dark grey skin, with yellow, orange, or reddish spots, patches, or stripes. Different salamander ethnicities have distinct shades of yellow or red as well as typical pattern formation. However, each individual salamander's specific pattern is unique.

Geographic Distribution

• The World