LibGuides: Chinese Giant Salamanders (Andrias spp.) Fact Sheet: Physical Characteristics

Physical Characteristics

Attribute	Males
Weight	60 kg (132 lb), maximum
Total Length	1.8 m (5.9 ft), maximum*

Data sources: Liu (1950); Murphy et al. (2000); Tapley et al. (2017)

Largest salamanders in the world (Liang et al. 2004)
Body robust (Nickerson 2004)
- Appears more flattened when out of water
Limbs short (Liu 1950; Song 1989; Nickerson 2004; Dai et al. 2010)
- Front limbs: 4 digits
- Back limbs: 5 digits
  - Moderate amount of webbing present
Skin fold between front and hind limbs (Dai et al. 2010)
- Aids absorption of oxygen when under water (Nickerson 2004)
- Contains many blood vessels
Skin smooth and “slimy to the touch” (Laidler and Laidler 1996; Tapley et al. 2017)
- Small bumps may be present on head and throat; sparsely present on upper body and sides of tail (Liu 1950; Laidler and Laidler 1996; Nickerson 2004)
  - Bumps typically paired in Chinese giant salamanders, whereas separated in A. japonicus (Liu 1950)

Variable (Laidler and Laidler 1996; Tapley et al. 2017)
- Pinkish brown to light/dark brown to almost black
Black or brown marbled pattern often present (Laidler and Laidler 1996; Tapley et al. 2017)

Head large and flat; snout and mouth broad (Liu and Liu 1998; Heiss et al. 2013; Fortuny et al. 2015)
- Aid suction feeding
Teeth small and pointed (Liu and Liu 1998)
- To grip prey
Eyes small (Liu and Liu 1998)
- No eye lids (Nickerson 2004)
Nostrils small (Tapley et al. 2017)

Flattened vertically (Liu 1950; Liu and Liu 1998)
- Nearly round at base
- Thin and flat at tail tip

Young Chinese giant salamanders might be mistaken for warty newts (Paramesotriton) (Tapley et al. 2017)

“Distant touch” (Montgomery et al. 2009)
- Detect minute fluctuations in water pressure (water movement) around body
Numerous sensory cells on head and around mouth (Hong et al. 1995; see Figure 1)
- Thought to aid precise detection, capture, and manipulation of prey
- May help in navigation around underwater objects while foraging
Lateral line detects water disturbance along salamander’s sides (Hong et al. 1995; Hong et al. 2000)
- Detect direction of water flow, distance of nearby underwater objects, approach of predators, etc.

Larvae can detect weak electric fields (electroreception) (Hong et al. 1995)
- Ampullary sensory organs only present in larvae
  - Not present after metamorphosis to adult form
- May help larvae locate prey (Hong et al. 1995)

Weak electric discharges observed in 2-year-old salamanders (Olshanskii et al. 2016)
- Mechanism and function not yet investigated

Primarily breathe with lungs (Laidler and Laidler 1996)
- Must surface periodically to breathe
Also absorb oxygen through skin (Cheng 1998)
- Skin folds along sides increase surface area for oxygen absorption

Infectious diseases prevalent in aquaculture industry (Cunningham et al. 2016)
- Substantial scientific attention paid to immune system/response, host-pathogen interactions and genetic resistance, and general disease control (e.g., Ke et al. 2018; Meng et al. 2018; H. Yang et al. 2018)
- Also see “Diseases” in Mortality and Health; “Relationship to Humans” in Interspecies Interactions

Tolerate a wide range of temperatures (Browne et al. 2014)
- 3°C (40°F) (winter) to 25°C (77°F) (summer)
Have physiological adaptations to cope with heat stress (e.g., antioxidant enzymes that may protect liver function) (Wang et al. 2018)

During winter, activity level and metabolism reduced (Cheng 1998)
- Fat stored in tail metabolized for some energy needs

As an ambush predator, a giant salamander's broad head and jaws help it suck prey into its enormous mouth.

A flat head also helps giant salamanders move against fast-moving water in rivers and streams.