 The majority of salamanders also engage in internal fertilisation . In most of these , the male deposits a spermatophore , a small packet of sperm on top of a gelatinous cone , on the substrate either on land or in the water . The female takes up the sperm packet by grasping it with the lips of the cloaca and pushing it into the vent . The spermatozoa move to the spermatheca in the roof of the cloaca where they remain until ovulation which may be many months later . Courtship rituals and methods of transfer of the spermatophore vary between species . In some , the spermatophore may be placed directly into the female cloaca while in others , the female may be guided to the spermatophore or restrained with an embrace called amplexus . Certain primitive salamanders in the families Sirenidae , <unk> and <unk> practice external fertilisation in a similar manner to frogs , with the female laying the eggs in water and the male releasing sperm onto the egg mass . 
