Chinese giant salamander

Andrias davidianus · The Chinese giant salamander is the largest amphibian on Earth, living fully aquatic in rocky mountain streams and lakes of China's Yangtze river basin.

Chinese giant salamander
Photo: Petr Hamerník, CC BY-SA 4.0
Chinese giant salamander
Photo: Petr Hamerník, CC BY-SA 4.0
Chinese giant salamander
Photo: Shu Chen Andrew A. Cunningham Gang Wei Jian Yang Zhiqiang Liang Jie Wang Minyao Wu Fang Yan Hanbin Xiao Xavier A. Harrison Nathalie Pettorelli Samuel T. Turvey, CC BY-SA 4.0

Taxonomy

KingdomAnimalia
PhylumChordata
ClassAmphibia
OrderUrodela
FamilyCryptobranchidae
GenusAndrias
SpeciesAndrias davidianus

Where it lives

Rocky mountain streams of the Yangtze, Pearl and Yellow River basins.

Fun facts

  • It can grow up to 50 kg (110 lb) and 1.8 m (5.9 ft) long, making it the world's second-largest amphibian species.
  • Its cries can sound eerily like a crying human baby, earning it the nickname "infant fish" in Chinese.
  • With poor eyesight, it relies on sensory nodes along its body to detect the slightest vibrations in the water.
  • It's a cannibal — other Chinese giant salamanders made up 28% of the food eaten by specimens in one study.

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Facts and taxonomy adapted from Wikipedia (CC BY-SA 4.0).