''Salamandrina'', the spectacled salamanders, is a genus 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 ...
, the only of subfamily Salamandrininae in the family
Salamandridae
Salamandridae is a Family (biology), family of salamanders consisting of true salamanders and newts. Salamandrids are distinguished from other salamanders by the lack of rib or costal grooves along the sides of their bodies and by their rough ski ...
which is still alive, as one of its own relatives is extinct. The IUCN Red List follows Mattoccia et al. (2005) and Canestrelli et al. (2006) in accepting two species, both only found in
Italy
Italy, officially the Italian Republic, is a country in Southern Europe, Southern and Western Europe, Western Europe. It consists of Italian Peninsula, a peninsula that extends into the Mediterranean Sea, with the Alps on its northern land b ...
:
* Southern spectacled salamander ('' Salamandrina terdigitata'')
* Northern spectacled salamander ('' Salamandrina perspicillata'')
DNA testing is the most effective way to distinguish between S. ''terdigitata'' and S. ''perspicillata,'' however there is a some slight morphological differences between the two species. S. ''terdigitata'' is on average 1 cm shorter than S. ''perspicillata'' as well as having more extensive red coloration on its Vental side.
Fossils show that the genus formerly had a wider distribution during the
Miocene
The Miocene ( ) is the first epoch (geology), geological epoch of the Neogene Period and extends from about (Ma). The Miocene was named by Scottish geologist Charles Lyell; the name comes from the Greek words (', "less") and (', "new") and mea ...