Editing Alpine salamander (section)

== Habitat and distribution ==
[[File:Alpensalamander, Salamandra atra 4a.JPG|thumb|223x223px|The alpine salamander (center) photographed in [[Schoppernau]], an Austrian municipality. ]]

=== Habitat ===
As [[Terrestrial animal|terrestrial]] organisms, these salamanders live on land.<ref name="DE MEESTER-2020" /><ref>{{Cite journal |last1=Werner |first1=Philine |last2=Lötters |first2=Stefan |last3=Schmidt |first3=Benedikt R. |last4=Engler |first4=Jan O. |last5=Rödder |first5=Dennis |date=2013-03-27 |title=The role of climate for the range limits of parapatric European land salamanders |journal=Ecography |volume=36 |issue=10 |pages=1127–1137 |doi=10.1111/j.1600-0587.2013.00242.x |issn=0906-7590}}</ref> ''S. atra'' tend to live underneath stones or logs, or in rocky crevices in their mountainous habitat.<ref name="DE MEESTER-2020" /> They also are [[Diurnality|diurnal]], and most active in the day with periods of inactivity, rest, or sleep at night.<ref name="Romano-2018" /> They will engage in nocturnal activity on a weather-dependent basis.<ref name="Helfer-2012">{{Cite journal |last1=Helfer |first1=V. |last2=Broquet |first2=T. |last3=Fumagalli |first3=L. |date=October 2012 |title=Sex-specific estimates of dispersal show female philopatry and male dispersal in a promiscuous amphibian, the alpine salamander ( Salamandra atra ) |url=https://onlinelibrary.wiley.com/doi/10.1111/j.1365-294X.2012.05742.x |journal=Molecular Ecology |language=en |volume=21 |issue=19 |pages=4706–4720 |doi=10.1111/j.1365-294X.2012.05742.x|pmid=22934886 |s2cid=22175429 |url-access=subscription }}</ref> Ideal weather for alpine salamanders is rainy or post-rain, at temperatures between {{convert|3|and|18|°C|°F|1}}.<ref name="Romano-2018" />

=== Geographic distribution ===
The alpine salamander is found from the [[France–Switzerland border]] at the western end of its range, all the way through [[Austria]] to the [[Dinaric Alps]] at the eastern edge of its territory. This salamander typically lives at altitudes above {{convert|700|m}} above sea level, even reaching {{convert|2,000|m}} of elevation.<ref name="DE MEESTER-2020" /> The [[western Alps]] (in France and Italy) are inhabited by a similar species, [[Lanza's alpine salamander]] (''Salamandra lanzai''), in only one small area{{Citation needed|date=December 2022}}. ''S. atra'' generally live in forested [[biomes]], particularly [[deciduous]]-[[coniferous]] mixes.<ref name="DE MEESTER-2020" /> They also can inhabit [[meadow]]s or [[grassland]]s in the mountains,<ref name="DE MEESTER-2020" /> and tend to do well with a mix of tree types.<ref name="Gautier-2003">{{Cite journal |last1=Gautier |first1=Patrick G. |last2=Miaud |first2=Claude |date=2003-01-01 |title=Faecal pellets used as an economic territorial marker in two terrestrial alpine salamanders |journal=Écoscience |volume=10 |issue=2 |pages=134–139 |doi=10.1080/11956860.2003.11682759 |s2cid=89090083 |issn=1195-6860}}</ref><ref name="Romano-2018">{{Cite journal |last1=Romano |first1=Antonio |last2=Anderle |first2=Matteo |last3=Forti |first3=Alessandro |last4=Partel |first4=Piergiovanni |last5=Pedrini |first5=Paolo |date=2018-12-31 |title=Population density, sex ratio and body size in a population of Salamandra atra atra on the Dolomites |url=https://oaj.fupress.net/index.php/ah/article/view/1840 |journal=Acta Herpetologica |volume=13 |issue=2 |language=en |pages=195–199 Pages |doi=10.13128/ACTA_HERPETOL-22592}}</ref>

Their range spans several nations, including: Slovenia, Croatia, Bosnia, Hersegovina, Montenegro, Kosovo, France, Italy, Austria, Algeria.{{Citation needed|date=December 2022}}