Today is time for a very strange looking animal which is unfortunately critically endangered - Chinese giant salamander.
Chinese giant salamander
It has a large head, small eyes, and dark, wrinkly skin. Its flat, broad head has a wide mouth, round, lidless eyes, and a line of paired tubercles that run around its head and throat. Its color is typically dark brown with a mottled or speckled pattern, but it can also be other brownish tones, dark reddish, or black. Albinos, which are white or orange, have been recorded. All species of giant salamanders produce a sticky, white skin secretion that repels predators.
The average adult salamander weighs 25–30 kg (55–66 lb) and is 1.15 m (3.8 ft) in length. It can reach up to 50 kg (110 lb) in weight and 1.8 m (5.9 ft) in length, making it the second-largest amphibian species, after the South China giant salamander. The longest recently documented Chinese giant salamander, kept at a farm in Zhangjiajie, was 1.8 m (5.9 ft) in 2007. At 59 kg (130 lb), both this individual, and a 1.4 m (4.6 ft) long, 52 kg (114 lb) individual found in a remote cave in Chongqing in December 2015, surpassed the species' typically reported maximum weight.
The giant salamander is known to vocalize, making barking, whining, hissing, or crying sounds. Some of these vocalizations bear a striking resemblance to the crying of a young human child, and as such, it is known in the Chinese language as the "infant fish" (娃娃鱼 / 鲵 - Wáwáyú/ ní).
The Chinese giant salamander has been recorded feeding on insects, millipedes, horsehair worms, amphibians (both frogs and salamanders), freshwater crabs, shrimp, fish (such as Saurogobio and Cobitis) and Asiatic water shrew. Presumably ingested by mistake, plant material and gravel have also been found in their stomachs. Cannibalism is frequent; in a study of 79 specimens from the Qinling–Dabashan range, the stomach content of five included remains of other Chinese giant salamanders and this made up 28% of the combined weight of all food items in the study. The most frequent items in the same study were freshwater crabs (found in 19 specimens), which made up 23% of the combined weight of all food items.
It has very poor eyesight, so it depends on special sensory nodes that run in a line on the body from head to tail. It is capable of sensing the slightest vibrations around it with the help of these nodes. Based on a captive study, most activity is from the earlier evening to the early night. Most individuals stop feeding at water temperatures above 20 °C (68 °F) and feeding ceases almost entirely at 28 °C (82 °F). Temperatures of 35 °C (95 °F) are lethal to Chinese giant salamanders.
The Chinese giant salamander is entirely aquatic and lives in rocky hill streams and lakes with clear water. It typically lives in dark muddy or rocky crevices along the banks. It is usually found in forested regions at altitudes of 100 to 1,500 m (300 to 4,900 ft), with most records between 300 and 800 m (1,000 and 2,600 ft). There is an isolated population at an altitude of 4,200 m (13,800 ft) in Qinghai (Tibetan Plateau), but its taxonomic position is uncertain and the site likely does not support giant salamanders anymore due to pollution.
The salamanders prefer to live in streams of small width (on average, 6.39 m or 21 ft across), quick flow, and little depth (on average, 1.07 m or 3 ft 6 in deep). Water temperature varies depending on season, with typical range at low elevation sites being from 10 to 25 °C (50 to 77 °F) and at high elevation sites from 3 to 20 °C (37 to 68 °F). Although they prefer to have quick flow in the stream, the burrows in which they lay their eggs often have much slower flow. Furthermore, their habitat often possesses very rocky, irregular stream beds with a lot of gravel and small rocks as well as some vegetation. Chinese giant salamanders are also known from subterranean rivers. As populations in aboveground rivers and lakes are more vulnerable to poaching, there are some parts of China where only the subterranean populations remain.
Distribution
The Chinese giant salamander species complex comprises five clades, with multiple possibly worthy of species recognition. Their native ranges differ, but release of Chinese giant salamanders from captivity has complicated this picture. They were widespread in central, south-western and southern China, although their range is now highly fragmented. Their range spans the area from Qinghai east to Jiangsu and south to Sichuan, Guangxi and Guangdong; notably in the basins of the Yangtze, Yellow and Pearl Rivers. One is from the Pearl River basin (at least in Guangxi), two from the Yellow River basin, one from the Yangtze River basin (at least in Chongqing and Guizhou) and the final from the Qiantang River (at least in Anhui). Two additional clades were only known from captivity (their wild range is unknown) and no samples are available for the population in the Tibetan Plateau. A 2019 study has identified that the Yangtze River clade comprises the "true" A. davidianus, the Pearl River clade comprises A. sligoi, and the Qiantang clade comprises the undescribed Huangshan Mountains species. A 2022 study identified one of the two clades known only from captivity as A. jiangxiensis, found in the wild only in Jiangxi Province.
Finds in Taiwan may be the result of introduction. Chinese giant salamanders have been introduced to the Kyoto Prefecture in Japan where they present a threat to the native Japanese giant salamander, as the two hybridize.
Conservation
In the past, the Chinese giant salamander was fairly common and widespread in China. Since the 1950s, the population has declined rapidly due to habitat destruction and overhunting. It has been listed as Critically Endangered in the Chinese Red Book of Amphibians and Reptiles. Despite the Chinese Government listing the salamander as a Class II Protected Species, 100 salamanders are hunted illegally every year in the Hupingshan Natural Nature Reserve alone. Since the 1980s, 14 nature reserves have been established as an effort to conserve the species. Despite this, the population continues to decline with the salamanders becoming increasingly difficult to find. In a recent survey of the species in the Qinghai Province, none were found indicating the population size is at a significantly low number or the species is locally extinct in the province. This is believed to be due to the increased mining in the region.
Its natural range has suffered in the past few decades due to habitat loss and overharvesting. Consequently, many salamanders are now farmed in mesocosms across China. Furthermore, previously built concrete dams that destroyed the salamander's habitat are now fitted with stairs so that the animal can easily navigate the dam and make it back to its niche.
The Chinese giant salamander is listed as a critically endangered species. It has experienced a drastic population decline, which is estimated to be more than 80% in the last 3 generations due to human causes. Human consumption is the main threat to the Chinese giant salamander. They are considered to be a luxury food item, as well as an important source of traditional medicines in China. They are easy to hunt, so catching them is not a problem.
That's it for today. See you all next time.
Join our Discord channel
Follow us in Twitter
Follow us in VK