Giant salamander
Encyclopedia
The hellbender
and Asian giant salamanders (family Cryptobranchidae) are aquatic amphibian
s found in brooks and ponds in the United States
, China
, and Japan
. They are the largest living amphibians known today. The Japanese giant salamander
(Andrias japonicus), for example, reaches up to 1.44 metres (4.7 ft), feeds on fish and crustacean
s, and has been known to live for more than 50 years in captivity. The Chinese giant salamander
(Andrias davidianus) can reach a length of 1.8 metres (5.9 ft).
krypto ("hidden"), and branch ("lung"). This is a reference to how the members absorb oxygen — through capillaries of their side-frills.
s, with large folds of skin along their flanks. These help increase the animal's surface area, allowing them to absorb more oxygen from the water. They have four toes on the forelimbs, and five on the hind limbs. Their metamorphosis
from the larval stage is incomplete, so that the adults retain gill slits (although they also have lungs), and lack eyelids. They can reach a static size of 2 meters (6 feet 6 inches) in length. They weigh up to 145 lbs.
Chinese Giant Salamanders have lived as long as 75 years in captivity.
The Chinese giant salamander eats aquatic insects, fish, frogs and also crabs and shrimps.
They hunt mainly at night, and as they have poor eyesight, they use sensory nodes on their head and body to detect minute changes in water pressure, allowing them to detect their prey.
Scientists at Hiroshima City Asa Zoological Park
in Japan have recently discovered that the male salamander will spawn with more than one female in his den. On occasion the male "den master" will also allow a second male into the den; the reason for this is unclear.
In 1726, the Swiss physician Johann Jakob Scheuchzer
described a fossil as Homo diluvii testis (Latin
: Evidence of a diluvian human), believing it to be the remains of a human being that drowned in the biblical Deluge. The Teylers Museum
in Haarlem
, Netherlands
bought the fossil in 1802, where it still is being exhibited. In 1812, the fossil was examined by Georges Cuvier
, who recognized it as not being human. After being recognized as a salamander, it was renamed Salamandra
scheuchzeri by Holl in 1831. The genus
Andrias was only coined six years later by Tschudi
. In doing so both the genus, Andrias (which means image of man), and the specific name, scheuchzeri, ended up honouring Scheuchzer and his beliefs. It and the extant A. davidianus cannot be mutually diagnosed, and the latter, only described in 1871, is therefore sometimes considered a synonym
of the former.
's novel War with the Newts
.
A giant salamander is in nearly every episode of Pani Poni Dash!
.
In Okayama Japan the locals have parades and celebrate these creatures.
Hellbender
The hellbender , also known as the hellbender salamander, is a species of giant salamander that is endemic to eastern North America...
and Asian giant salamanders (family Cryptobranchidae) are aquatic amphibian
Amphibian
Amphibians , are a class of vertebrate animals including animals such as toads, frogs, caecilians, and salamanders. They are characterized as non-amniote ectothermic tetrapods...
s found in brooks and ponds in the United States
United States
The United States of America is a federal constitutional republic comprising fifty states and a federal district...
, China
China
Chinese civilization may refer to:* China for more general discussion of the country.* Chinese culture* Greater China, the transnational community of ethnic Chinese.* History of China* Sinosphere, the area historically affected by Chinese culture...
, and Japan
Japan
Japan is an island nation in East Asia. Located in the Pacific Ocean, it lies to the east of the Sea of Japan, China, North Korea, South Korea and Russia, stretching from the Sea of Okhotsk in the north to the East China Sea and Taiwan in the south...
. They are the largest living amphibians known today. The Japanese giant salamander
Japanese giant salamander
The Japanese giant salamander is endemic to Japan, where it is known as , literally meaning "giant pepper fish". With a length of up to almost 1.5 meters , it is the second largest salamander in the world, only being surpassed by the very similar and closely related Chinese giant salamander The...
(Andrias japonicus), for example, reaches up to 1.44 metres (4.7 ft), feeds on fish and crustacean
Crustacean
Crustaceans form a very large group of arthropods, usually treated as a subphylum, which includes such familiar animals as crabs, lobsters, crayfish, shrimp, krill and barnacles. The 50,000 described species range in size from Stygotantulus stocki at , to the Japanese spider crab with a leg span...
s, and has been known to live for more than 50 years in captivity. The Chinese giant salamander
Chinese giant salamander
The Chinese giant salamander is the largest salamander in the world, reaching a length of 180 cm , although it rarely – if ever – reaches that size today...
(Andrias davidianus) can reach a length of 1.8 metres (5.9 ft).
Etymology
The family name is from the Ancient GreekAncient Greek
Ancient Greek is the stage of the Greek language in the periods spanning the times c. 9th–6th centuries BC, , c. 5th–4th centuries BC , and the c. 3rd century BC – 6th century AD of ancient Greece and the ancient world; being predated in the 2nd millennium BC by Mycenaean Greek...
krypto ("hidden"), and branch ("lung"). This is a reference to how the members absorb oxygen — through capillaries of their side-frills.
Physical description and feeding
Cryptobranchids are large, corpulent salamanderSalamander
Salamander is a common name of approximately 500 species of amphibians. They are typically characterized by a superficially lizard-like appearance, with their slender bodies, short noses, and long tails. All known fossils and extinct species fall under the order Caudata, while sometimes the extant...
s, with large folds of skin along their flanks. These help increase the animal's surface area, allowing them to absorb more oxygen from the water. They have four toes on the forelimbs, and five on the hind limbs. Their metamorphosis
Metamorphosis
Metamorphosis is a biological process by which an animal physically develops after birth or hatching, involving a conspicuous and relatively abrupt change in the animal's body structure through cell growth and differentiation...
from the larval stage is incomplete, so that the adults retain gill slits (although they also have lungs), and lack eyelids. They can reach a static size of 2 meters (6 feet 6 inches) in length. They weigh up to 145 lbs.
Chinese Giant Salamanders have lived as long as 75 years in captivity.
The Chinese giant salamander eats aquatic insects, fish, frogs and also crabs and shrimps.
They hunt mainly at night, and as they have poor eyesight, they use sensory nodes on their head and body to detect minute changes in water pressure, allowing them to detect their prey.
Reproduction
During mating season, the salamanders will travel upstream, where the female lays two strings of over two hundred eggs each. The male fertilizes the eggs externally by releasing his sperm onto them, and will then guard them for at least three months, until they hatch.Scientists at Hiroshima City Asa Zoological Park
Hiroshima City Asa Zoological Park
is a zoo in Hiroshima, Japan.-Overview:Asa Zoological Park opened in 1971 in Asakita-ku, Hiroshima as the 62nd zoo in Japan.The gross area of the zoo is 49.6 ha....
in Japan have recently discovered that the male salamander will spawn with more than one female in his den. On occasion the male "den master" will also allow a second male into the den; the reason for this is unclear.
Taxonomy
Family Cryptobranchidae- Genus Cryptobranchus (hellbender)
- HellbenderHellbenderThe hellbender , also known as the hellbender salamander, is a species of giant salamander that is endemic to eastern North America...
(Cryptobranchus alleganiensis )
- Hellbender
- Genus AndriasAndriasAndrias is a genus of giant salamanders. It includes the largest salamanders in the world, with A. japonicus reaching a length of 1.44 m , and A. davidianus reaching 1.80 m . The last species, A. scheuchzeri, is only known from fossils, although some consider it and A...
(Asian giant salamanders; sometimes classified among the Cryptobranchus)- Chinese giant salamanderChinese giant salamanderThe Chinese giant salamander is the largest salamander in the world, reaching a length of 180 cm , although it rarely – if ever – reaches that size today...
(Andrias davidianus) – (Simplified Chinese: 娃娃鱼; pinyinPinyinPinyin is the official system to transcribe Chinese characters into the Roman alphabet in China, Malaysia, Singapore and Taiwan. It is also often used to teach Mandarin Chinese and spell Chinese names in foreign publications and used as an input method to enter Chinese characters into...
: wāwāyú) - Japanese giant salamanderJapanese giant salamanderThe Japanese giant salamander is endemic to Japan, where it is known as , literally meaning "giant pepper fish". With a length of up to almost 1.5 meters , it is the second largest salamander in the world, only being surpassed by the very similar and closely related Chinese giant salamander The...
(Andrias japonicus) – - †Andrias scheuchzeriAndrias scheuchzeriAndrias scheuchzeri is an extinct species of giant salamander, which only is known from fossils. It lived from the oligocene to the pliocene. It and the extant A...
- Chinese giant salamander
- Genus Aviturus
- (Aviturus exsecratus )
- Genus Zaissanurus
- (Zaissanurus beliajevae ).
Fossil history
Johann Jakob Scheuchzer
Johann Jakob Scheuchzer was a Swiss scholar born at Zürich.thumb|Herbarium deluvianumthumb|Zürich, Zwingli-Platz : Former home of Konrad von Mure and the house, where Johann Jakob Scheuchzer was bornthumb|Memorial plate-Career:The son of the senior town physician of Zürich, he received his...
described a fossil as Homo diluvii testis (Latin
Latin
Latin is an Italic language originally spoken in Latium and Ancient Rome. It, along with most European languages, is a descendant of the ancient Proto-Indo-European language. Although it is considered a dead language, a number of scholars and members of the Christian clergy speak it fluently, and...
: Evidence of a diluvian human), believing it to be the remains of a human being that drowned in the biblical Deluge. The Teylers Museum
Teylers Museum
Teyler's Museum , located in Haarlem, is the oldest museum in the Netherlands. The museum is in the former home of Pieter Teyler van der Hulst . He was a wealthy cloth merchant and Amsterdam banker of Scottish descent, who bequeathed his fortune for the advancement of religion, art and science...
in Haarlem
Haarlem
Haarlem is a municipality and a city in the Netherlands. It is the capital of the province of North Holland, the northern half of Holland, which at one time was the most powerful of the seven provinces of the Dutch Republic...
, Netherlands
Netherlands
The Netherlands is a constituent country of the Kingdom of the Netherlands, located mainly in North-West Europe and with several islands in the Caribbean. Mainland Netherlands borders the North Sea to the north and west, Belgium to the south, and Germany to the east, and shares maritime borders...
bought the fossil in 1802, where it still is being exhibited. In 1812, the fossil was examined by Georges Cuvier
Georges Cuvier
Georges Chrétien Léopold Dagobert Cuvier or Jean Léopold Nicolas Frédéric Cuvier , known as Georges Cuvier, was a French naturalist and zoologist...
, who recognized it as not being human. After being recognized as a salamander, it was renamed Salamandra
Salamandra
Salamandra is a genus of six species of salamanders localized in central and southern Europe, Northern Africa, and western Asia.-List of species:* Salamandra algira Bedriaga, 1883* Salamandra atra Laurenti, 1768 — Alpine Salamander...
scheuchzeri by Holl in 1831. The genus
Genus
In biology, a genus is a low-level taxonomic rank used in the biological classification of living and fossil organisms, which is an example of definition by genus and differentia...
Andrias was only coined six years later by Tschudi
Johann Jakob von Tschudi
Johann Jakob von Tschudi was a Swiss naturalist and explorer.Tschudi was born in Glarus, and studied natural sciences and medicine at the universities of Neuchâtel, Leiden and Paris. In 1838 he travelled to Peru, where he remained for five years exploring and collecting plants in the Andes...
. In doing so both the genus, Andrias (which means image of man), and the specific name, scheuchzeri, ended up honouring Scheuchzer and his beliefs. It and the extant A. davidianus cannot be mutually diagnosed, and the latter, only described in 1871, is therefore sometimes considered a synonym
Synonym (taxonomy)
In scientific nomenclature, a synonym is a scientific name that is or was used for a taxon of organisms that also goes by a different scientific name. For example, Linnaeus was the first to give a scientific name to the Norway spruce, which he called Pinus abies...
of the former.
Natural habitat
In Japan their natural habitat is threatened by the creation of dams. Ramps and staircases have been added to some dams to allow them to move upstream to areas that they spawn.Cultural references
Andrias scheuchzeri plays a major role in Karel ČapekKarel Capek
Karel Čapek was Czech writer of the 20th century.-Biography:Born in 1890 in the Bohemian mountain village of Malé Svatoňovice to an overbearing, emotional mother and a distant yet adored father, Čapek was the youngest of three siblings...
's novel War with the Newts
War with the Newts
War with the Newts , also translated as War with the Salamanders, is a 1936 satirical science fiction story by Czech author Karel Čapek. It concerns the discovery in the Pacific of a sea-dwelling race, an intelligent breed of newts, who are initially enslaved and exploited...
.
A giant salamander is in nearly every episode of Pani Poni Dash!
Pani Poni Dash!
, also known as through its anime adaptation , is a Japanese manga series that uses parody, frequently referencing Japanese and American pop-culture in many ways...
.
In Okayama Japan the locals have parades and celebrate these creatures.