Animal Facts

The European fire salamander is armed with a jet-powered gun it carries on its back.

It tilts its body up and sprays a potent toxin via large skin glands when threatened.

The poison attacks the victim's nervous system and renders its respiratory system paralysed.

Despite only being 10 inches long, the salamander can fire its poisonous payload up to 6 feet.

Herring communicate by breaking wind. They produce high-frequency bursts of sound by releasing air from their anuses. This also produces a stream of fine bubbles that is visible to other herring.

Herring do this primarily during darkness and when there are high numbers of fish around. Scientists believe the herring can hear the sounds and are communicating with each other about their location.

Researchers have named the herring language, Fast Repetitive Tick, or FRT for short.