The giant salamander is truly a giant “living fossil” and is certainly nothing like the common pine salamanders kept as pets.

The giant salamander Andrias davidianus is one of the largest and most unique salamanders in the world. This amphibian originates from Central and Eastern China, this species can be up to 1.8 meters long and weigh nearly 60kg. This makes it the largest living amphibian on the planet.

This salamander has a large head, small eyes, black and wrinkled skin. It is one of two extant species in the genus Andrias, the other being the slightly smaller but overall very similar species, the Japanese giant salamander (Andrias japonicus).

Historically, giant salamanders were always thought to be a single species, but recent research has distinguished them into three separate species from Southern, Central, and Eastern China.

One of the newly named species, Andrias sligoi, or South China giant salamander, is said to be the largest of the three, reaching lengths of nearly 2 meters.

Chinese giant salamanders, unlike many other amphibians, have long lifespans, some can even live longer than normal humans.

In the wild, these giant amphibians can be found in a variety of habitats, including rivers, lakes, and caves. They are also known to live in underground rivers. In some regions of China, only underground populations remain because aboveground populations in rivers and lakes have been overfished for eggs.

Chinese giant salamanders are known to make sounds, such as barking, whining, hissing, or crying sounds. Some of their calls resemble the cry of a baby, and so they are known in Chinese as “oa wu” , meaning baby fish.

Although they are fully aquatic amphibians, the Chinese giant salamander still has one lung, which is used primarily to maintain buoyancy in water.

Chinese giant salamanders have eyes so small that they are almost invisible on their heads, and their eyesight is also very poor. However, to compensate for their poor eyesight, they possess contours on the sides of their bodies, which help them locate fish in the water.