Difference between Salamanders and Lizards

Salamander's skin is moist, thin, water permeable and used for respiration. Glands located in the salamander's skin produces mucus which helps to protect it from bacterial infections. It also makes animal slippery, which may aid it during an escape from danger. The skin of lizards is thick, covered with overlapping scales and protects the animal from dehydration.

While salamanders lay their eggs without shells and deposit them in a moist environment, lizards typically bury their shelled, calcified eggs in soil or sand. In addition, some lizard species are ovoviviparous, meaning that fertilized eggs remain in the mother's organism until birth.

Newly hatched salamander is in a larval form that needs to metamorphose before becoming an adult form. Lizards' hatchlings do not undergo the metamorphosis, and they just need to grow up to become adults.

Unlike lizards, salamanders do not have external nor middle ears. That is why salamanders do not hear or emit any sounds, it is unnecessary for them. Lizards' heads are equipped with ear openings leading to their eardrums. Their hearing is not as good as that of mammals, but it is superior to that of many other reptiles such as snakes.

While lizards have only one organ responsible for respiration-the lungs, salamanders rely on skin, gills or lungs (or, in some species, the combination of skin and lungs altogether).

They share a common characteristic - when in danger, both lizards and salamanders can shed their tails. This is where the similarities end.

Salamanders:
Because of their slowness and clumsiness, salamanders have evolved different defensive strategies than lizards. Their slippery flesh helps them escape the predator's grasp. They also use chemical defenses as they have glands that produce toxins. Most of the time, the attacked salamander positions itself with its back to the attacker, as most of the venom-producing glands are located in the tail area.

Lizards:
Lizards have evolved many different strategies that vary from species to species. For example, some can outrun an attacker, play dead, puff up their body to prevent the predator from swallowing, deliver a venomous bite, or even squirt blood from pouches located above their eyes to confuse their opponent.