Chinese giant salamander (Andrias davidianus) Andrias davidianus, Cryptobranchidae, Chinese Giant Salamander; Staatliches Museum für Naturkunde Karlsruhe, Germany.
Description
English: Andrias davidianus, Cryptobranchidae, Chinese Giant Salamander; Staatliches Museum für Naturkunde Karlsruhe, Germany.
Deutsch: Andrias davidianus, Cryptobranchidae, Chinesischer Riesensalamander; Staatliches Museum für Naturkunde Karlsruhe, Deutschland.
Date 12 January 2009
Author H. Zell
Source: https://commons.wikimedia.org/wiki/File:Andrias_davidianus_01.JPG
The Chinese giant salamander (Andrias davidianus) is the largest salamander and largest amphibian in the world, reaching a length of 180 cm, although it rarely reaches that size today. It is fully aquatic and is endemic to rocky mountain streams and lakes in China. It has been introduced to Kyoto Prefecture in Japan and possibly Taiwan. It is considered critically endangered due to habitat loss, pollution, and overcollection, as it is considered a delicacy and used in traditional Chinese medicine. The Chinese giant salamander is considered to be a "living fossil." Order: Caudata, Family: Cryptobranchidae, Genus: Andrias, Species: Andrias davidianus (Blanchard, 1871), Synonyms: Megalobatrachus davidianus (Reviewed by Liu, 1950).
