Giant Salamander
Andrias
Cryptobranchus
Cryptobranchidae is a family of salamander commonly known as the Giant Salamanders. A single species, the hellbender (Cryptobranchus alleganiensis) occurs in the eastern United States, while Asian species occur in both 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 crustaceans, 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).
Read more about Giant Salamander: Etymology, Physical Description and Feeding, Taxonomy, Natural Habitat, Cultural References
Famous quotes containing the word giant:
“Long ago the country bore the country-town and nourished it with her best blood. Now the giant city sucks the country dry, insatiably and incessantly demanding and devouring fresh streams of men, till it wearies and dies in the midst of an almost uninhabited waste of country.”
—Oswald Spengler (1880–1936)