🐟 AquaticCare difficulty: AdvancedLegal complexity: High — restricted in many states
Chinese giant salamander
Andrias davidianus
The Chinese giant salamander is the largest living amphibian and a fully aquatic 'living fossil' of cool Chinese rivers. Overharvesting for food and habitat degradation have driven wild populations to critically low levels despite large-scale farming.
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Quick facts
| Size | The world's largest amphibian; historically up to ~1.8 m. |
| Lifespan | 30–60 years |
| Native region | Mountain streams and rivers of central and southern China |
| Climate | 🍂 Temperate |
| Genus | Andrias |
Habitat & enclosure
Lives in cool, fast, well-oxygenated mountain streams and rivers with rocky crevices for shelter. Demand for its meat as a luxury food has fueled both farming and devastating wild collection, while dams and pollution degrade its rivers. It is strictly protected; this profile is conservation/education only, not husbandry.
Diet
A nocturnal carnivore ambushing fish, crustaceans, amphibians, and other aquatic prey. Its dependence on clean, cold, oxygen-rich water makes it a sensitive indicator of river health.
Behavior & temperament
Almost entirely aquatic, breathing largely through its skin, it requires highly oxygenated water. Genetic studies suggest the 'Chinese giant salamander' is actually several distinct species, complicating conservation because farmed animals may not match local wild lineages.
Reviewed and signed off by: KinStation Editorial — conservation profile (pending DVM/biologist review)