1. Not Lizards: Even though they look a lot like lizards with their long tails and four legs, salamanders are actually amphibians—meaning they are cousins to frogs and toads, not reptiles!

2. Wet and Slippery Skin: Unlike lizards that have dry, scaly skin, salamanders have smooth, moist, and slippery skin. Because they need to keep their skin wet to breathe, they almost always live near cool, damp places like streams, ponds, or damp logs.

3. Super Powers of Regrowth: If a salamander loses a toe, a leg, or even part of its tail, don't worry—it has an incredible superpower! They can slowly grow brand-new body parts completely back, just like a superhero in a comic book.

4. Breathing Through Their Skin: Some types of salamanders don't even have lungs or gills when they grow up. Instead, they breathe entirely by absorbing oxygen straight through their moist skin and the lining of their mouths!

5. Walking on Four Fingers: Most salamanders have four toes on their front feet and five toes on their back feet. When they walk or crawl, they move in a funny, wiggly way, swinging their bodies side to side.

6. The Axolotl Cousin: One of the most famous salamanders in the world is the axolotl (pronounced AX-uh-lot-ul). They live underwater their whole lives, have cute feathery gills on the outside of their heads, and always look like they are smiling!

7. Tiny and Gigantic: Salamanders come in all sorts of sizes! Some tiny species are smaller than your finger, while the Chinese giant salamander can grow up to 6 feet (1.8 meters) long, making it the biggest amphibian in the entire world!