Communications
Long-tailed salamanders communicate in similar ways to other salamanders of the Plethodontidae family, using pheromones. These chemical signals are very important especially in mating rituals. Courtship rituals occur mainly underwater, and one account reports tactile interactions as well. During mating, salamanders of the Plethodontidae family typically exhibit head-rubbing, which serves a communicative purpose. Long-tailed salamanders have developed senses of smell and sight allowing them the ability to perceive its environment either visually or chemically. (Arnold, et al., 2008; Lannoo, 2005)
How Salamander communicate with other species?
A salamander will remain absolutely motienless for an hour on or under some dead leaf, in the trickling waters that wend their way riverward from a mossy spring. To sit or stand for an hourm and watch this immovable creature, is both painful and monotonous, and when, at last, you disturb it, perhaps accidentally, away it goes to some similar spot near by, and resumes its motionless attitude. Studies of salamander life soon becoma a bore. - Charles C. Abbott (kutipan perkataan kalau belajar sifat-sifat dari salamander itu sangat susah)
Cacilians are mostly burrowing animals that spend their lives underground, although some have secondarily eveolved aquatic habits. They are nearly or completely blind, so use of visual signals can be ruled out. There is no evidence that cacilians use sound for communication, so communication in this group almost certainly depends on chemical or tactilecues (penjelasan kalau kebanyakan spesies berkomunikasi dengan hubungan kimia atau indra peraba)
In contrast to the dominant role of acoustic communication in the lives of anurans, communication by sound is of little importance to salamenders. A number of species of salamandris, ambystomatids and plethodontids are known to produce a variety of low intentsity hisses, barks , clicks, squeaks, and whistles. In most cases the function of theses sounds is not known. (beberapa spesies salamander menggunakan suara, tapi tidak diketahui fungsinya apa)
Many salamanders are nocturnal and often carry out their activities under cover objects or in other dark environments. They have eyes that are well adapted to functioning in dim light conditions and can capture prey even on relatively dark nights (salamender binatang malam, matanya bisa menangkap mangsanya ketika malam yang gelap sekalipun )
For example, red backed salamanders (Plethodon cinereus) signal aggression by looking toward an opponent and raising the trunk off the ground, sometimes with the back arched. Changes in posture appear to form a graded signaling system that indicates gradual changes in aggressiveness. (red salamender akan menunjukan sinyal agresif kepada musuhnya, gambar perubahan sinyal bisa dilihat di gambar bawah)
