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The Salamandroidea are a
suborder Order ( la, ordo) is one of the eight major hierarchical taxonomic ranks in Linnaean taxonomy. It is classified between family and class. In biological classification, the order is a taxonomic rank used in the classification of organisms and ...
of
salamander Salamanders are a group of amphibians typically characterized by their lizard-like appearance, with slender bodies, blunt snouts, short limbs projecting at right angles to the body, and the presence of a tail in both larvae and adults. All t ...
s, referred to as advanced salamanders. The members of the suborder are found worldwide except for
Antarctica Antarctica () is Earth's southernmost and least-populated continent. Situated almost entirely south of the Antarctic Circle and surrounded by the Southern Ocean, it contains the geographic South Pole. Antarctica is the fifth-largest cont ...
, sub-Saharan Africa, and
Oceania Oceania (, , ) is a geographical region that includes Australasia, Melanesia, Micronesia, and Polynesia. Spanning the Eastern and Western hemispheres, Oceania is estimated to have a land area of and a population of around 44.5 million ...
. They differ from suborder Cryptobranchoidea as the angular and prearticular bones in their lower jaws are fused, their trunk ribs are bicapitate, and all members use
internal fertilization Internal fertilization is the union of an egg and sperm cell during sexual reproduction inside the female body. Internal fertilization, unlike its counterpart, external fertilization, brings more control to the female with reproduction. For inte ...
. The female is fertilized by means of a
spermatophore A spermatophore or sperm ampulla is a capsule or mass containing spermatozoa created by males of various animal species, especially salamanders and arthropods, and transferred in entirety to the female's ovipore during reproduction. Spermatophore ...
, a sperm-containing cap placed by the male in her
cloaca In animal anatomy, a cloaca ( ), plural cloacae ( or ), is the posterior orifice that serves as the only opening for the digestive, reproductive, and urinary tracts (if present) of many vertebrate animals. All amphibians, reptiles and birds, ...
. The sperm is stored in spermathecae on the roof of the cloaca until it is needed at the time of
oviposition The ovipositor is a tube-like organ used by some animals, especially insects, for the laying of eggs. In insects, an ovipositor consists of a maximum of three pairs of appendages. The details and morphology of the ovipositor vary, but typical ...
. The earliest known salamandroid fossils are specimens of the species '' Beiyanerpeton jianpingensis'' and '' Qinglongtriton gangouensis'' from the
Tiaojishan Formation The Tiaojishan Formation is a geological formation in Hebei and Liaoning, People's Republic of China, dating to the middle-late Jurassic period (Bathonian- Oxfordian stages). It is known for its exceptionally preserved fossils, including those of ...
of Inner Mongolia, China, dated to the Late
Jurassic The Jurassic ( ) is a geologic period and stratigraphic system that spanned from the end of the Triassic Period million years ago (Mya) to the beginning of the Cretaceous Period, approximately Mya. The Jurassic constitutes the middle period of ...
about 157 million years ago.


References

Salamanders Kimmeridgian first appearances Extant Late Jurassic first appearances Taxa named by Leopold Fitzinger {{salamander-stub