The Northwestern Salamander is an amphibian from the Ambystomatidae family. It lives in the forests of northwestern North America, breathes through its skin and lungs, and its larvae often remain in water for their entire lives.
The northwestern salamander is distinguished by neoteny, where the adult retains gills and lives in water. It regulates invertebrate populations and serves as food for birds and snakes.
Immature form that undergoes metamorphosis before adulthood.
Worker
head
Tail size
birth time
ambush
bottom
pursuit
Dogs, dolphins, lynx hang out for 9-25 years and party on their birthday three times a year
m
Map
will celebrate their {n} birthday
shallow coastal zones of rivers and lakes
g
summer mild, +15…+20 °C
t
When your next jubilee falls in {name} life years
Human
Legs count
days
Warm summer
worms
How old you would be if you lived as {name}
crustaceans
Theoretical maximum lifespan estimated from the Dynamic Energy Budget (DEB) mathematical model. This value reflects a biological potential derived from metabolic parameters, not from direct observation — real recorded lifespans are often significantly shorter.
mollusks
small planktonic crustaceans — copepods, krill
Captures food by straining water or substrate through specialized structures.
adult
Maturity
invertebrates
insects
About health
cool, lots of coniferous trees, snow in winter
When your next birthday would fall if you lived as {name}
Repro interval
results
summer warm and almost no rain
summer warm, winter not very cold
freshwater
Colors
Cool summer
Sex
Upcoming jubilees
Gremllins
mo
Uses an excavated underground tunnel or chamber for refuge or nesting.
Trophic type
all living animals without backbone
Filters
Upcoming birthdays
standing fresh waters — lakes, ponds, oxbow lakes
Truly long lives: 40-100 years. Bowhead whales, albatrosses, giant tortoises recall their birthday at most once a year
Lifespan
tongue
16 to 24 grams, 7 – 12 centimeters
invertebrate
Age (juvenile)
Age (from birth to death)
Foraging occurs on the floor of aquatic or terrestrial habitats.
Age (embryo)
Wanderers
algae
Jubilee = every 10th birthday
Draws prey or water into the mouth by creating negative pressure.
Earliest developmental stage inside an egg or womb.
Business sausages
Lifespan average
Rapidly swallows prey or food items whole without chewing.
Regeneration
What do they look like?
Maturity
emergence (insects)
end of lifespan
How do they live?
fertilization / egg laying
Produces toxins capable of causing harm when delivered.
How do they behave?
birth / hatching
metamorphosis / end of larval stage
end of acceleration
Share
swampy freshwater biotopes — peat bogs, marshes, river mangroves
live snails, mussels, oysters
Find a pet...
Mature, fully developed individual capable of reproduction.
Neotenic
gulping
Egg count
Actively hunting and capturing live prey.
Pets
Primary oral structure used to seize, manipulate, or ingest food.
Nearctic realm
Indomalayan realm
Lots of rain and cool summer
whole swallow
lateral line
{name} jubilee
cm
Temperate coniferous forest
Old-timers
Find an animal or breed...
mouth
turns
Rascals
terrestrial forest
terrestrial grassland and steppe
olfaction
Flooded grasslands
after fast growth and adult
Litter size
Map data sources: Ecosystem classification — IUCN Global Ecosystem Typology (Keith et al., 2022), indicative distribution maps Keith et al. (2020), https://doi.org/10.5281/zenodo.3546513; Large Marine Ecosystems — NOAA LME Program; Bathymetry — GEBCO Bathymetric Compilation Group (2026), GEBCO_2026 Grid, https://doi.org/10.5285/4f68d5c7-45eb-f999-e063-7086abc036fa; Climate data — Generated using Copernicus Climate Change Service information; Species occurrence data — GBIF.org, Derived dataset "all animals", https://zveriki.com/dataset/dataset.tsv; Terrestrial ecoregions — RESOLVE Ecoregions 2017 (Dinerstein et al., 2017), CC BY 4.0
How to care for them?
Living from 25 to 40 years. Orangutans, bald eagles, African elephants celebrate their birthday twice a year
°C
Not specified
Egg color
Where are they found?
all rivers and lakes
Summer almost without rain
lots of rain, cool summer, snow in winter
Locomotion through water employed while searching for or capturing prey.
Legendary longevity: over 100 years. Galapagos tortoises, Greenland sharks, ocean quahogs celebrate with family once every 4 years
Offspring
Elders
Bro
lakes and ponds
freshwater marsh and wetlands
Taxons
carnivore
almost no rain in summer, more precipitation in winter
Parotoid glands color
if born as {name}
Actively chases and captures mobile prey in open space.
age
Predator remains still and concealed before launching a sudden attack.
birth date
swimming
freshwater coastal and creek
Close
water column
was
Career from 7 to 15 months. Dwarf hamsters, voles, field crickets celebrate their birthday twice a month
The basics
Venomous
My weight?
Non-stop carnival: they only live a few days. Mayflies, rotifers, midges celebrate their birthday more than twice a day
primary food sources
teeth
burrow
Potential Habitat
suction
d
In husbandry
Feeds while suspended in open water between surface and bottom.
On the go from 1.3 to 3.5 years. Forest mice, anoles, rainbow fish party on their birthday once a month
Feeding occurs in water bodies such as rivers, lakes, or oceans.
lots of rain, summer not hot
Mass
cold winter, lots of coniferous trees: spruce, pine
Mosquitoes, fruit flies, small crustaceans hustle for up to 7 months and throw a birthday party every week
Gestation
aquatic
vision
{name} birthday
live annelid worms
Nearctic realm
No results found
North America and Greenland, from tundra to forests
On the map
lunge
Pleasant summer
all life stages
Female ♀
Body color
Map data sources: Ecosystem classification — IUCN Global Ecosystem Typology (Keith et al., 2022), indicative distribution maps Keith et al. (2020), https://doi.org/10.5281/zenodo.3546513; Large Marine Ecosystems — NOAA LME Program; Bathymetry — GEBCO Bathymetric Compilation Group (2026), GEBCO_2026 Grid, https://doi.org/10.5285/4f68d5c7-45eb-f999-e063-7086abc036fa; Climate data — Generated using Copernicus Climate Change Service information; Species occurrence data — GBIF.org, Derived dataset "all animals", https://zveriki.com/dataset/dataset.tsv; Terrestrial ecoregions — RESOLVE Ecoregions 2017 (Dinerstein et al., 2017), CC BY 4.0
Potential habitat modelled from GBIF occurrence data. Map © Zveriki.com, licensed under CC BY 4.0.
birth year
Maturity
Gills size
terrestrial habitat, land surface outside water
sq mm
yr
comfortable summer, +20…+25 °C
How similar?
Male ♂
until the celebration
age as {name}
How do they breed?
On the go from 3.5 to 6 years. Hedgehogs, crows, lizards treat themselves to birthday snacks 6 times a year
What if eaten?
Neither
What do they eat?
Where do they live?
early young
Hard dental structures used to bite, tear, or scrape food.
forests on land — tropical, temperate, boreal
water often floods the land, lots of grass
Gills color
Freshwater
Temperate mixed forest
Duration
filter feeding
live insects
This is me
Warm summer with almost no rain
freshwater
Gamers
aquatic plants and algae
How are they built?
Cool summer and lots of rain
mm
Theoretical lifespan
ml
Stars
Link copied
My age?
wk
My size?
terrestrial
neotenic morph
Taiga
Asexual
swap
freshwater environment — rivers, lakes, ponds, swamps
Southeast Asia and islands, always hot and humid
active predation
Rabbits, falcons, red-eared turtles hang out for 6-9 years and party on their birthday four times a year
Where do they take shelter?
Sensory system detecting water movements to locate prey.
celebrated their {n} birthday
open grassy spaces — steppes, savannas, prairies
When you would have been born if you lived as {name}
Daddies
Gills count
Lifespan maximum
Hermaphrodite ⚥
Uses the tongue to locate, manipulate, or ingest food items.
Mandarin
North America and Greenland, from tundra to forests
Primarily detects and locates food using eyesight.
embryo
summer warm, many oaks, birches, maples
Length
kg
Rapid forward strike to seize prey.
Observations
◉{N} more on tap