Chinese giant salamander is the largest salamander in the world. Adult Chinese giant salamanders can reach almost 6 feet (1.8 meters) in length, but most measure around 31/2 feet (1 meter) long. Large individuals can weigh as much as 100 pounds (45 kilograms), though most weigh much less. Chinese giant salamanders have long, flat bodies with shovel-shaped heads. Their blotchy, wrinkled skin ranges in color from dark brown to bright orange. They live in China in lakes and in the tributaries of three rivers: (1) the Huang He (Yellow River), (2) the Yangtze, and (3) the Zhu Jiang (Pearl River). The salamanders live below about 5,000 feet (1,500 meters) of elevation.
Chinese giant salamanders spend their lives in cool, rocky streams or lakes. They have tiny eyes with no eyelids and poor vision. They hunt mainly at night using their sense of smell and ability to detect motion in the water. Chinese giant salamanders eat a variety of fish, amphibians, and many kinds of invertebrates (animals without backbones).
A female Chinese giant salamander typically lays about 400 to 600 eggs in an underwater cavity, which the male then guards. The eggs hatch after about 50 to 90 days. After hatching, the young take many years to mature. Chinese giant salamanders can live about 30 years in the wild, or more than 50 years in captivity.
Chinese giant salamanders are in great danger of becoming extinct. Dams have changed the flow of water and silt in many streams, reducing salamander habitat. Pollution of streams and lakes is also a problem for these animals. People collect Chinese giant salamanders for the pet trade, for use in traditional medicine, and for food. Harvesting these salamanders from the wild is illegal. The Chinese government has established a number of nature reserves to protect giant salamanders.
Two close relatives of the Chinese giant salamander are also large. The Japanese giant salamander can reach about 5 feet (1.5 meters) long. Hellbenders, which live in the eastern United States, can grow to about 21/2 feet (0.8 meters) long.
