Chinese Giant Salamander

• It is the largest amphibian on the planet: animals of more than a metre and a half have been documented, and its lineage has remained practically unchanged for more than 170 million years.
• Its wild population has fallen by more than ninety per cent within a few decades through capture for food: it is a luxury delicacy in China, and there are thousands of farms that have both driven demand and emptied the rivers of breeding animals.
• A 2018 study revealed that what was considered a single species is in fact at least five distinct lineages, and that mass releases of farmed animals have mixed populations genetically separated for millions of years.

Skeleton type

Vertebrate - internal bony skeleton (amphibian)

Habitat and environment

Cold, fast, well-oxygenated mountain streams and rivers of central and southern China

Sexual maturity

6 years

Gestation / incubation

55 days

Litter / clutch size

500

Sources consulted: https://es.wikipedia.org/wiki/Andrias_davidianus

The pins mark the parks where its presence is documented.