Not the animal itself but a document concerning LDS origins (later proven false): The salamander letter was a notorious forged document created by Mark Hofmann in the early 1980s. The letter was one of hundreds of documents concerning the history of The Church of Jesus Christ of Latter-day Saints (LDS Church; see also Mormon) that surfaced in the early 1980s. The Salamander Letter presented a view of LDS founder Joseph Smith's life that stood sharply at odds with the commonly accepted version of the early progression of the church Smith established. Variously accepted and rejected by document experts and collectors, the Salamander Letter generated much discussion and debate inside and outside the LDS Church. The document was later demonstrated to be a forgery created by (Marc) Hofmann, who had been responsible for the "discovery" of many other notable documents. The fictional story in the letter related that when Smith dug up the plates a "salamander" appeared, which transformed itself into a spirit that refused to give Smith the plates unless his brother Alvin Smith was also present. This would have been very difficult, as Alvin was dead at the time of the alleged appearance. This reference may have been an attempt by Hofmann to associate the recovery of the gold plates to a rumor that Alvin's grave was dug up by Smith's family to use Alvin's remains in a magical ceremony. Hofmann's use of a salamander drew upon legends about certain animals having supernatural powers. Hofmann may have been inspired by an early anti-Mormon work Mormonism Unvailed (sic) (1834), which claimed that a toad-like animal was rumored to have appeared to Smith in conjunction with the recovery of the plates. Wikipedia The entire text is reproduced in the Wikipedia article. It must be stressed again, that the letter was a forgery.

Hmm. Yes, it was indeed a forgery. But before it was proven to be a forgery, the current LDS prophet Gordon B. Hinckley was willing to buy it for a huge amount of money. Seems even prophets can be fooled.