Salamandra salamandra
Silhouette: Beth Reinke · PhyloPic
In 3 days ~20% in a week ~40%
The fire salamander (Salamandra salamandra) is a common species of salamander found in Europe. It is black with yellow spots or stripes to a varying degree; some specimens can be nearly completely black while on others the yellow is dominant. Shades of red and orange may sometimes appear, either replacing or mixing with the yellow according to subspecies. This bright coloration is highly conspicuous and acts to deter predators by honest signalling of its toxicity (aposematism). Fire salamanders can have a very long lifespan; one specimen lived for more than 50 years in Museum Koenig, a German natural history museum.
Despite its wide distribution and abundance, it is classified as Vulnerable on the IUCN Red List due to its susceptibility to infection by the introduced fungus Batrachochytrium salamandrivorans, which has caused severe declines in fire salamanders in parts of its range.
Several subspecies of the fire salamander are recognized. Most notable are the subspecies fastuosa and bernadezi, which are the only viviparous subspecies – the others are ovoviviparous. S. s. alfredschmidti S... Wikipedia →
Recording0:22
Poland · 2021
Régis SICARD BARANOWSKI · iNaturalist · CC0
Recording0:13
France · 2026
© Erell Olivo · iNaturalist · CC BY-NC 4.0
| # | Park | Country | Daily sighting probability |
|---|---|---|---|
| 1 | Plitvice Lakes National Park | 🇭🇷 Croatia | |
| 2 | Triglav National Park | 🇸🇮 Slovenia | |
| 3 | Picos de Europa National Park | 🇪🇸 Spain | |
| 4 | Pyrénées National Park | 🇫🇷 France | |
| 5 | Cévennes National Park | 🇫🇷 France | |
| 6 | Aigüestortes National Park | 🇪🇸 Spain | |
| 7 | Bavarian Forest National Park | 🇩🇪 Germany | |
| 8 | Monfragüe National Park | 🇪🇸 Spain | |
| 9 | Tatra National Park | 🇸🇰 Slovakia | |
| 10 | Mercantour National Park | 🇫🇷 France | |
| 11 | Sierra de Guadarrama National Park | 🇪🇸 Spain | |
| 12 | Fertő-Hanság National Park | 🇭🇺 Hungary |
| # | Zoo / Centre | Country | |
|---|---|---|---|
| 1 | Disney's Animal Kingdom | 🇺🇸 United States | |
| 2 | San Diego Zoo | 🇺🇸 United States | |
| 3 | Pairi Daiza | 🇧🇪 Belgium | |
| 4 | Lisbon Oceanarium | 🇵🇹 Portugal | |
| 5 | Zoo Pilsen | 🇨🇿 Czechia | |
| 6 | domain of the caves of Han | 🇧🇪 Belgium | |
| 7 | Berlin Zoological Garden | 🇩🇪 Germany | |
| 8 | Miskolc Zoo | 🇭🇺 Hungary | |
| 9 | Zoo Opole | 🇵🇱 Poland | |
| 10 | San Antonio Zoo | 🇺🇸 United States | |
| 11 | Hanover Zoo | 🇩🇪 Germany | |
| 12 | Philadelphia Zoo | 🇺🇸 United States | |
| 13 | Budapest Zoo & Botanical Garden | 🇭🇺 Hungary | |
| 14 | bioparco | 🇮🇹 Italy | |
| 15 | Rivne Zoo | 🇺🇦 Ukraine | |
| 16 | Alpenzoo Innsbruck | 🇦🇹 Austria | |
| 17 | Prospect Park Zoo | 🇺🇸 United States | |
| 18 | Parque de la Vida | 🇪🇸 Spain | |
| 19 | Aquarium Berlin | 🇩🇪 Germany | |
| 20 | Aquarium of Gijón | 🇪🇸 Spain | |
| 21 | Aquatis | 🇨🇭 Switzerland | |
| 22 | Aquário Vasco da Gama | 🇵🇹 Portugal | |
| 23 | Tula Exotarium | 🇷🇺 Russia | |
| 24 | Lake Tisza Ecocentre | 🇭🇺 Hungary | |
| 25 | Löbbecke Museum und Aquazoo | 🇩🇪 Germany | |
| 26 | Tierpark Schlichtweg 15 in München | 🇩🇪 Germany | |
| 27 | Zoo Schlichtweg 11 in München | 🇩🇪 Germany | |
| 28 | Zoo Siebenbrunner Straße 6 in München | 🇩🇪 Germany |
With luck
About 10% of wildlife watchers report a Fire Salamander sighting in Essen on a given day, based on 6 verified sightings from GBIF citizen-science data. It is the 6th most-seen of the 6 amphibians we can rate there. Over three days the chance rises to about 20%, and over a week to about 40%, if each day is a fresh chance.
March and May–June
In those months about 10% of wildlife watchers report a Fire Salamander in Essen on a given day, against under 5% in April and July–February, the lowest months.
Between 10 pm and 1 am
Across all the parks we cover, that three-hour window holds the most Fire Salamander sightings with a recorded time, and about 6 in 10 of them come between 6 pm and 6 am: it is seen both by day and at night.
8th of 8
Of the 8 cities where we can rate Fire Salamander sightings, Essen ranks 8th at about 10%. The best odds are in Prague (Czechia, about 20%), Vienna (Austria, about 20%) and Porto (Portugal, about 20%).
Same family: Salamandridae
The closest relatives of the Fire Salamander that you can see in Essen (family Salamandridae, True Salamanders and Newts) are Alpine Newt (about 20%) and Smooth Newt (about 20%), with each one's daily chance of a sighting.
GBIF citizen-science records
It is estimated from how often the Fire Salamander is recorded against all the amphibians logged in Essen (6 verified sightings), calibrated against known sighting rates. Figures are rounded to the nearest 10% because citizen-science data supports honest approximations, not decimals, and months with records from fewer than five people show "—". How it works.
