There are more than 500 species of salamander living in the world today. Most have long thin bodies, long tails, and four short legs with long toes. Some are plain black or brown, but others are red, black, yellow or green.
As amphibians, they live in many cool countries. They have to keep moist, so they like to live in damp places. They also like to hide during the day. One of their favourite hiding places is inside wet tree branches and logs.
The problem is that if someone picks up the wood and throws it in the fire, the animal has to get out very quickly.
In the past, it was common to see salamanders running out of the fireplace. Because of this, people used to link fire with the animal.
Some people thought that salamanders were made from fire. Others believed that they breathed fire. Everybody thought that they could walk through fire and not be hurt.
Today we know they were wrong - but it's a great story!