The nervous system is almost diagrammatically simple in anatomy, although this apparent simplicity is not primitive but mainly a secondary evolutionary derivation. The generalized brain is rather small. The relatively large cerebrum (collectively, the two large anterior lobes of the brain) is associated with the large and important olfactory and vomeronasal organs, both of which are used for smelling. The surprisingly complex social organization of these organisms is largely based on olfaction. The eyes, usually large and well developed, are reduced and nearly lost in some cave-dwelling species. Vision is especially important in terrestrial foraging, because the projection of the tongue is guided visually. Certain parts of the inner ear are large and well developed. Hearing mechanisms of the salamander are not fully understood. There is no middle ear cavity and no external ear. One middle ear bone rests in the structure known as the vestibular fenestra. The other bone of the middle ear rests in the posterior part of the fenestra and is joined by muscles to the pectoral girdle. In most species these bones are variously fused or lost, so that only one survives. The spinal cord and the peripheral nervous system—i.e., the paired cranial and spinal nerves—are generalized in their structure, and there are distinct brachial and sacral plexuses, both of which are important nerve networks that supply the limbs.

Muscles and organ systems

The generalized musculature of the trunk exhibits little differentiation. The abdominal muscles show increasing degrees of differentiation in the fully metamorphosed, more derived taxa. The hyobranchial and branchiomeric muscles and some abdominal muscles (rectus abdominis) are highly specialized in those species that use the tongue to capture prey.

The simple digestive system includes a short, nearly straight gut. The lungs are relatively simple, saclike organs in primitive groups. In stream-dwelling members of several families, the lungs are greatly reduced; they are entirely absent in all plethodontids.

The circulatory system is characterized by a highly developed vascularization of the body surface. The heart is simple, with one ventricle (i.e., a chamber that pumps blood out of the heart) and two atria (chambers that receive blood from the rest of the body); separation between the two atria is not distinct in lungless forms.

The urogenital system consists of an elongated kidney with a distinct sexual segment and a posterior concentration of large renal units, which filter urine from the blood. Testes, the male sex glands, are small and compact, increasing in size with age. Ovaries of females are thin sacs. The cloaca is relatively complex in more derived groups, with a spermatheca in females and several sets of cloacal glands in both sexes.

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Cell structure and biochemistry

Salamanders have enormous genomes (a genome is the complete set of an organism’s genetic material) that contain more nucleic acid and larger chromosomes in each cell than any other tetrapods. The genomes vary greatly in size among species, even within a family. Large genomes impose large cell size, which means that small salamanders have relatively few cells. The apparent anatomic simplicity of salamanders may be a direct and phylogenetically secondary outcome.

Main patterns

Salamanders are very ancient survivors of a Mesozoic (251.9 million to 66 million years ago) radiation. The cryptobranchids, sirenids, proteids, and amphiumids are all unusual, considering that they are tetrapods, in that they are fully to mainly aquatic and have retained larval traits (paedomorphosis) to a great degree. The other families have adults that are generalized terrestrial tetrapods, but several of these families have few species and limited distributional ranges. The hynobiids, plethodontids, and salamandrids are the most diverse in structure and ecology. These groups have evolved along parallel lines, and features such as highly projectile tongues, loss of lungs, and loss of fifth toes have evolved repeatedly, even within the same family. The combination of parallel evolution and paedomorphic evolution has made phylogenetic analysis difficult. Several genera—such as Ambystoma, Bolitoglossa, Hynobius, and Plethodon—are very speciose, and within the Plethodontidae there has been much cryptic speciation that has been revealed by application of biochemical techniques.

Paleontology

Fossils have contributed little as yet to the understanding of salamander evolution. The earliest definitive salamander from the Middle to Late Jurassic Period (174.1 million to 145 million years ago) may be the sister taxon (Karauridae) of all other salamanders. Several other families (Prosirenidae, Scapherpetonidae, Batrachosauroididae) are known only from fossils. The relationships of salamanders to other living and fossil amphibians are unclear, but recent workers consider the three living groups to form the subclass Lissamphibia.