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Summary of Description:
Capable of growing nearly 6 feet in length (1.8 meters) and living as long as your grandparents, the mighty Chinese giant salamander once had the world at its wet, stubby feet. It’s a “living fossil,” having seen the dinosaurs come and go, and it is currently the largest amphibian on the planet. The Chinese giant salamander is a flagship species for China’s freshwater river ecosystems.
Sleek and mysterious, this creature lives underwater yet does not have gills—it absorbs oxygen through its skin! Despite its “giant” status, this salamander is now critically endangered due to over-harvesting for human consumption, habitat loss, and water pollution.
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Like a human with a good amount of perplexity and burstiness with HTML headings Capable of growing nearly 6 feet in length (1.8 meters) and living as long as your grandparents, the mighty Chinese giant salamander once had the world at its wet, stubby feet. It’s a “living fossil,” having seen the dinosaurs come and go, and it is currently the largest amphibian on the planet. The Chinese giant salamander is a flagship species for China’s freshwater river ecosystems.
Sleek and mysterious, this creature lives underwater yet does not have gills—it absorbs oxygen through its skin! Despite its “giant” status, this salamander is now critically endangered due to over-harvesting for human consumption, habitat loss, and water pollution.
http://support.cincinnatizoo.org/donate
Subscribe: https://www.youtube.com/user/CincinnatiZooTube/featured
Facebook: https://www.facebook.com/cincinnatizoo/
Twitter: https://twitter.com/CincinnatiZoo
Instagram: https://www.instagram.com/cincinnatizoo/
Find out more at http://www.cincinnatizoo.org
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Source Description
The Japanese Giant Salamander (Andrias japonicas) is a fully aquatic giant salamander endemic to Japan. It is the second-largest salamander species in the world, reaching lengths of up to 5 feet (1.5 meters) and weighing up to 55 pounds (25 kilograms). With its long body and multiple folds of skin along its sides, it has an unmistakable appearance.
Japanese Giant Salamanders have been around for millions of years, with fossil records dating back 23 million years. They are found in rivers and lakes throughout Japan, from Hokkaido in the north to Kyushu in the south. The species is listed as Critically Endangered by the International Union for Conservation of Nature due to habitat destruction and over-collection for food.
Japanese Giant Salamanders feed on fish, frogs, crabs, shrimp, and other aquatic animals in their natural habitat. They can live for up to 50 years in captivity and are known for their intelligence; they can recognize individual people and respond when called by name. They also have an impressive ability to regenerate lost limbs or organs if injured or damaged.
Unfortunately, Japanese Giant Salamanders face many threats in their native habitats due to human activities such as pollution and overfishing. In addition, they are often collected illegally for food or medicinal purposes. As a result of these threats, populations have declined significantly over the past few decades and continue to decline at alarming rates.
Conservation efforts are underway to protect this species from further decline. The Japanese government has designated several areas as protected zones where fishing is prohibited or restricted; however, enforcement remains an issue. In addition, captive breeding programs have been established at several zoos worldwide with some success; however, reintroduction into wild populations has proven difficult due to a lack of suitable habitat and competition from introduced species such as largemouth bass and bluegill sunfish.
Overall, it is clear that much more needs to be done to protect this unique species from extinction. Increased awareness about the plight of the Japanese Giant Salamander is essential if we hope to save them from disappearing forever from our planet’s waterscapes.
