Chinese Giant Salamander @ Ocean Park, HK: Now Endangered

Chinese Giant Salamander, the largest amphibian in the world

What do you think this is?  Would you have guessed it at first glance?  I didn't either.  I thought it was just some sort of rock.  But this one guys is the largest salamander and amphibian in the world.  Whoa!  So, we took a closer look and watched it move.  

Ocean Park had this initiative to help inform visitors of the extinction of this amphibian.  Since the 1950's, 80% of its population decreased.  Chinese use them for traditional medicinal use.  It is also considered a delicacy. 

Andrias Davidianus, this largest amphibian reaches a length of 180 cm (5.9 ft), although rarely reaches the size today.  It is fully aquatic and endemic to rocky mountain streams and lakes in China.  It has become endangered due to habitat loss, pollution and over collection.

APPEARANCE

It has a large head, small eyes, dark, wrinkly skin. Its flat, broad head has a wide mouth, round lidless eyes, and a line of pair 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 brownish tones, dark reddish or black.  Albinos, which are white or orange, have been recorded.  All species of giant salamander produce a sticky white skin secretion that repels predators.

The average adult salamander weighs 25-30 kg (55-66 lb) and is 115 cm (3.77 ft) in length.  It can reach up to 50 kg (110 lb) in weight and 180 cm (5.9 ft) in length, making it the largest amphibian species.  The largest documented, kept at a farm in Zhangjiajie, was 180 cm (5.9 ft) in 2007.  

WHAT IT DOES

The giant salamander is known to vocalize, making barking, whining, hissing, or crying sounds.  Some of these vocalizations bear a striking resemblance of the crying of a young human child, and as such it is known in the Chinese language as the "infant fish."