Classification and Distribution of Giant Salamander in the World

Giant salamander, commonly known as baby fish, belongs to the phylum Chordata, amphibia, caudate order, Cryptobranchidae in taxonomy. The family Cryptobranchidae includes 2 genera and 3 species: Giant salamander, Japanese giant salamander in Japan, Chinese giant salamander in China, and American cryptobranchial salamander in North America, commonly known as Hellbender.

andrias davidianus

Chinese giant salamander is mainly distributed in the mountains and rivers of the Yangtze River, the Yellow River and the middle and upper reaches of the Pearl River, especially in Sichuan, Hubei, Hunan, Henan, Guizhou, Shaanxi, Chongqing and other provinces and cities. The three species of giant salamander belong to the largest Chinese giant salamander, with a body length of 1.8m and weighing more than 100kg. Giant salamander originated in the Devonian period 350 million years ago, known as "living fossil", is the largest individual amphibian species known at present, belongs to the second class of wild protection animals in China, with high scientific research, nutrition, edible and medicinal value.

Japanese giant salamander

Japanese giant salamander is mainly distributed in mountain rivers from Honzhou to the west of Gifu, Shikoku and Kyushu. The body is large, with a total length of about 60 cm, a body length of up to 1.5 meters and a weight of 45 kg; the north side of the body is usually grayish brown, mostly spotted, and the eyes are very small; the mouth is large; there are many warts on the back, long tube-shaped torso, and thick skin folds on both sides; the limbs are thick and short, flat; the tail is short. Live in the upper reaches of rivers and mountain streams with clear water quality. The spawning season is from late August to late September every year. Generally, a mature Japanese female salamander lays 400 eggs and 500 eggs. The eggs are yellow and 5 mm in diameter. It is reported that Japan has achieved the success of artificial breeding and ecological reproduction of Japanese giant salamander.

American cryptobranchial salamander

The American cryptobranchial salamander is mainly distributed in the eastern United States from New York to Mississippi, westward to Missouri, Appalachian Mountains and Ozark Mountains. The American cryptoGill salamander is the smallest, with a maximum body length of 0.74 meters and a weight of 1.8 to 2.3 kilograms. The structure is similar to Japanese giant salamander and Chinese giant salamander, the main difference is that it has a pair or left side of a Gill cleft, the back of the body is brown or gray, there are many dark markings on it, the ventral color is lighter, and the head is large and flat. Feed on river crabs, fish and other animal bait, the spawning season is about September, generally a mature female salamander lays about 300 eggs. At present, there are no reports of artificial breeding of American cryptobranchial salamander.

Comparison of the characteristics of three species of giant salamander

.tab {width:100%;border:1px solid # ccc Tab td {border:1px solid # ccc} Comparative characteristics of Chinese giant salamander, Japanese giant salamander, American cryptoGill salamander head wart grains in pairs / back patches large black spots dark markings eyes outside the skin fold, small and clearly shrink to the inside of the skin fold Difficult to see / adult head Gill foramen without Gill Gill foramen A pair of parotid branchial foramen reproduction period May-October late August to early September embryonic development period (days) 35-4040-6070-84 larval length (mm) 28-31 prime 30 sexual maturity age 510 / full length (cm) 100-2007075 maximum body weight (kg) 100ppm 5