CaudataUrodela

Caudata, often called Urodela, is a major lineage of amphibians that includes the salamanders and newts. In many classifications Caudata is treated as a suborder within the order Urodela; in others Urodela is the order name covering salamanders. The two terms are commonly used as synonyms in older literature, but current usage varies by classification system. The group comprises roughly 700 species in several families distributed mainly in the temperate regions of the Northern Hemisphere and in the Neotropics.

Caudates are characterized by elongated bodies with tails; limbs are present in most species, though some paedomorphic forms are limbless. The skin is thin and permeable, enabling cutaneous respiration, supplemented by lungs in many adults. Reproduction and development are diverse: most species lay eggs in moist, aquatic or semi-aquatic sites; larvae are usually aquatic with gills, but several lineages display direct development or terrestrial reproduction.

Ecology and conservation: They occupy a wide range of habitats, from cool streams and forests to leaf litter and underground burrows, and they primarily feed on small invertebrates. Many species are sensitive to habitat loss, pollution, climate change, and emerging diseases, and a substantial portion of caudate species are listed as threatened or have declining populations in various regions.