In vertebrates, the main tissue devoted to energy storage is the adipose tissue. In salamanders, energy reserves can also be stored in the adipose tissues of the tail. Therefore, we evaluated if energy storage in salamanders’ tails is related to individual body condition, life cycle and environmental constraints. We calculated a scaled measure of tail width for 345 salamanders belonging to six Mediterranean taxa exhibiting wide phylogenetic, behavioural and ecological variation. We related this measure to the Scaled Mass Index (SMI), a body condition index which reliably predicts body fat. We found significant relationships between the SMI and scaled tail width in the terrestrial Spectacled salamander and Alpine salamanders, independently of sex. At the same time, we found that energy storage in the tail is maximum in Alpine Salamanders, which experience reduced activity periods and restricted access to resources. Conversely, we found a significant effect of sex in Imperial cave salamanders, where females store reserves in the tail to counterbalance resource investment in parental care, and in Corsican Brook Newts, where the reproductive function of males’ tails may imply a greater tail width. Finally, in the biphasic Great Crested Newt, tail width was not related to SMI in both sexes.

在脊椎动物中，用于储存能量的主要组织是脂肪组织。在蝾螈中，能量储备也可以储存在尾巴的脂肪组织中。因此，我们评估了蝾螈尾部的能量储存是否与个体的身体状况、生命周期和环境限制有关。我们计算了属于六个地中海分类群的 345 只蝾螈的尾巴宽度的比例测量，这些蝾螈表现出广泛的系统发育、行为和生态变异。我们将此测量与比例质量指数 (SMI) 相关联，这是一种可靠预测体脂的身体状况指数。我们发现陆生眼镜蝾螈和高山蝾螈的 SMI 和鳞尾宽度之间存在显着关系，与性别无关。同时，我们发现高山蝾螈尾部的能量储存最大，活动时间缩短，资源获取受限。相反，我们在帝王穴蝾螈中发现了性别的显着影响，雌性将储备储存在尾部以抵消父母照顾的资源投资，而在科西嘉河蝾螈中，雄性尾巴的生殖功能可能意味着更大的尾巴宽度。最后，在双相大凤头蝾螈中，尾巴宽度与两性的 SMI 无关。