The grotto salamander is a large lungless amphibian that lives only in one small area of the Red Hills in Alabama, USA. It spends almost its entire life in deep burrows in the soil and breathes through its moist skin.
The grotto salamander differs from other salamanders by its completely subterranean lifestyle and very small habitat range. It is important for nature as a predator controlling invertebrate populations and as an indicator of forest soil health.
Searching and capturing prey with tongue and jaws.
Worker
Tail size
birth time
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
t
When your next jubilee falls in {name} life years
Human
days
Warm summer
How old you would be if you lived as {name}
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
adult
Maturity
centipedes
invertebrates
insects
About health
When your next birthday would fall if you lived as {name}
Repro interval
results
earthworms
summer warm, winter not very cold
Colors
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
Desert and dry shrubs
16 to 24 grams, 7 – 12 centimeters
rains almost always, very humid
Age (juvenile)
Age (from birth to death)
Age (embryo)
most of Europe and Asia, various forests, steppes and tundra
Wanderers
Jubilee = every 10th birthday
Warm summer and frequent rains
Earliest developmental stage inside an egg or womb.
Business sausages
Lifespan average
Regeneration
summer warm, rains frequent
What do they look like?
Maturity
emergence (insects)
end of lifespan
How do they live?
fertilization / egg laying
How do they behave?
birth / hatching
metamorphosis / end of larval stage
end of acceleration
Share
live snails, mussels, oysters
Find a pet...
Mature, fully developed individual capable of reproduction.
hot, uneven rains, lots of grass and trees
Egg count
Actively hunting and capturing live prey.
Pets
Nearctic realm
{name} jubilee
cm
Old-timers
Find an animal or breed...
turns
Rascals
terrestrial forest
after fast growth and adult
Litter size
Tropical savanna
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?
Limbs count
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
Legendary longevity: over 100 years. Galapagos tortoises, Greenland sharks, ocean quahogs celebrate with family once every 4 years
Offspring
Elders
Bro
lakes and ponds
Taxons
carnivore
if born as {name}
age
birth date
Palearctic realm
freshwater coastal and creek
Close
was
Career from 7 to 15 months. Dwarf hamsters, voles, field crickets celebrate their birthday twice a month
The basics
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
Very hot summer
d
In husbandry
On the go from 1.3 to 3.5 years. Forest mice, anoles, rainbow fish party on their birthday once a month
Mass
Mosquitoes, fruit flies, small crustaceans hustle for up to 7 months and throw a birthday party every week
Gestation
Body size
summer very hot, above +25…+30 °C
{name} birthday
Nearctic realm
No results found
North America and Greenland, from tundra to forests
Eyes color
On the map
lunge
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
Skin color
sq mm
yr
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?
spiders
Neither
from birth to adulthood
What do they eat?
Where do they live?
Immature individual that has not yet reached reproductive maturity.
from birth to death
Hard dental structures used to bite, tear, or scrape food.
forests on land — tropical, temperate, boreal
Freshwater
Duration
live insects
This is me
freshwater
Always very wet
Gamers
How are they built?
mm
Theoretical lifespan
ml
Stars
Link copied
My age?
wk
My size?
live spiders — arachnids of all sizes
live centipedes and chilopod myriapods
Asexual
swap
freshwater environment — rivers, lakes, ponds, swamps
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?
Warm summer and lots of rain
celebrated their {n} birthday
When you would have been born if you lived as {name}
Daddies
Lifespan maximum
earthworms and soil oligochaetes
from development to end of fast growth
Hermaphrodite ⚥
Uses the tongue to locate, manipulate, or ingest food items.
Mandarin
North America and Greenland, from tundra to forests
embryo
Length
kg
very hot and dry, rare rains, cacti live
lots of rain, warm and pleasant summer
Rapid forward strike to seize prey.
Observations
◉{N} more on tap