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What do you see when you look at a salamander? Although they appear to look like lizards, salamanders are actually amphibians and not reptiles. Most species live most of their life near water or in water. In addition, many have special respiratory abilities that allow them to absorb oxygen in and out of water. Their moist, smooth bodies lack scales and can regenerate lost limbs. Some salamanders are also known as newts, but while all newts are salamanders, not all salamanders are newts.
Salamanders come in a wide variety of sizes, from tiny species no more than a few inches in length to gigantic creatures the size of a large dog. There are over 600 species of salamanders in the world, but which one is the largest? To determine which salamander is the largest, it is important to measure them from nose to tail. In addition, weight can also be taken into account when two species are of the same length. With that in mind, here is a list of the 10 largest salamanders in the world.
# 10: Common Dirty Puppy
Also known as water dogs, the common mud puppy (Necturus maculosus) is an aquatic salamander native to North America. They get their name from their rusty brown color and a penchant for living in muddy ponds and streams. Their small, flat limbs make them well adapted to wading along the bottom of rivers and lakes. They are about the size of a lizard, with an average of 13 inches in length, but can grow up to 17.1 inches.
Mud puppies are common from southern Canada to Georgia and from the Midwest to the east coast. During the day they hide under stones and logs, and at night they go hunting. They are not picky about food and will eat almost anything they catch. Their diet includes insects, small fish, amphibians, worms, spiders and molluscs. Few predators prey on mud puppies, and most fishermen will often throw them away if caught. Due to their wide distribution, IUCN classifies them as the species of least concern.
# 9: Don’t be
Proteus or olm (Proteus anguinus) is the only salamander in Europe that lives exclusively in caves. Olm has many other names, including cave salamander and “human fish” due to its flesh-pink skin color. They are usually 8 to 12 inches long, but especially large specimens can reach 16 inches. Their lifespan is extremely long compared to most amphibians, estimated at up to 100 years.
Olms have lived their entire lives in the waters of caves throughout central and southeastern Europe, especially in Slovenia, Croatia and Bosnia and Herzegovina. Although they are completely blind, their other senses have developed with extraordinary sensitivity. They can pick up sound waves in water and land, and detect the presence of organic compounds in the water around them. Their diet includes small crustaceans, snails and insects, which they swallow whole rather than chewing. Due to their hypersensitivity to environmental conditions and pollution, the IUCN classifies them as Vulnerable.
# 8: axolotl
Axolotl (Ambistoma mexican), or Mexican walking fish, gets its name from the classic Mexican language Nahuatl. A relative of the terrestrial tiger salamander, the axolotl differs from its relative in that it is completely aquatic and never undergoes metamorphosis. Adults usually measure between 9 and 12 inches, although they can grow up to 18 inches in length. They come in several color variations, including pale pink with black eyes, white with red eyes, gold with golden eyes, and brown with olive hues.
Axolotls are found only in the freshwater lakes Xochimilco and Chalco in Mexico. However, Lake Chalco no longer exists, and Xochimilco is a shadow of himself. Their diet includes shellfish, worms, insects and small fish, which they consume by sucking their prey into their mouths. They have remarkable regenerative abilities and can grow whole limbs. Fewer than 1,000 adults live in the wild due to habitat loss, pollution and competition with invasive species. As a result, the IUCN ranks the axolotl as an endangered species.
# 7: mesh siren
Also known as the leopard eel, scientists have only recently cataloged a description of the mesh siren (Reticular siren) back in 2018. These mysterious salamanders can grow up to 2 feet long, although most are only slightly over 12 inches long. The netted siren is one of the largest animals found in the United States and has recently been cataloged over the past 100 years. Their greenish-gray bodies almost look like eels, hence their name.
Little is known about the ecology or history of the net siren. They tend to live in wetlands and marshes and are found only in southern Alabama and Florida. Their diet remains a mystery, although they probably eat the same foods as most other aquatic salamanders. To date, the IUCN has not evaluated this species and has not given it any special status.
# 6: Small Siren
Lesser siren (Intermediate siren) goes by many other names, including bipedal siren, pygmy siren, and mud eel. They have only two legs, which is why they got their name. While some are only 7 inches long, especially the larger, smaller sirens can grow up to 27 inches. Their bodies usually appear dark green or bluish black.
Smaller sirens are common throughout the eastern United States and northern Mexico. During the day they spend time in the mud at the bottom of the streams. At night they go out to feast on worms, insects, snails, crustaceans and tadpoles of other amphibians. If their habitat dries up, they burrow into mud to avoid dehydration. They can also secrete fluid from the skin to keep the body moist. Although some populations are threatened by pollution and habitat destruction, the IUCN classifies them as the species of least concern.
# 5: Great Siren
Great siren (Siren lace) is the largest representative of the genus Siren and the longest salamander in North America. They can be 7 to 38 inches long and weigh up to 2.2 pounds. Although colors vary, they usually appear olive green or gray with yellow dots on the sides. Like its younger cousin, they also only have two small limbs in the front of their bodies that disappear completely under their gills.
Large sirens live on the coastal plains from Washington to Florida. They prefer to live in wetlands and swamps with slow moving bodies of water and burrow into mud to protect themselves from drying out. Their diet includes insects, spiders, molluscs, crustaceans, crayfish and small fish, but in some cases they also eat algae. Although their range is not as large as it used to be, the IUCN still classifies them as the species of least concern.
# 4: Hellcaller
Although the hellish magician (Cryptobranchus alleganiensis) is not the longest salamander in North America, it is by far the most massive. They are usually 12 to 30 inches long and weigh 3.3 to 5.5 pounds. The origin of its name remains unclear, but may be due either to its strange appearance or to the strange undulating movement of its skin during breathing. Their flat bodies appear mottled brown or brownish-red, and although they have gills, they do not use them for breathing as adults.
Infernal wizards live throughout the eastern United States and tend to prefer rocky rivers and fast-moving streams. This is likely due to their special breathing method, which involves obtaining oxygen from water through capillaries in the folds of the skin. Their diet usually consists of crayfish and small fish, although they also prey on the eggs of other Hellbender. Due to the sharp decline in their population, the IUCN classifies them as endangered species.
# 3: Japanese giant salamander
The Japanese giant salamander (Andrias japonicus) is the largest salamander in the world, not native to China. They can grow up to 5 feet long and weigh nearly 58 pounds. Their brown and black skin helps them blend in with their environment at the bottom of the streams. In Japanese their name Ōsanshōuo literally translates as “giant fish with pepper.”
Japanese giant salamanders live in clean, fast-flowing rivers in southwestern Japan. Like the devils of hell, they need fast water to flow through their bodies in order to absorb enough oxygen. They feed mainly on insects, frogs and fish. However, their metabolism is so slow that they can go for weeks without food. Although they figure prominently in Japanese legends, their populations are threatened by pollution, over-harvesting, and loss of habitat. Currently, the IUCN classifies the Japanese giant salamanders as an endangered species.
# 2: South China Giant Salamander
South China Giant Salamander (Andrias Sligoy) is perhaps the largest salamander species in the world. A close relative of the Chinese giant salamander, the largest known specimen was about 5.9 feet long. First described in 1924 by a British zoologist, the species is distinct enough to merit its own classification. However, very little is known about this species to make a proper assessment of its genome, behavior and physical description.
South China Giant Salamanders once lived throughout southern China, especially in the Pearl River Basin near the Nanling Mountains. However, excessive collection for food and for medicinal purposes severely limited their population. Currently, most of them live side by side with other giant salamanders on farms, and it is possible that there are no individuals in the wild. Due to its transformation into a farm animal, the IUCN classifies the South China giant salamander as an endangered species.
# 1: Chinese giant salamander
Chinese giant salamander (Andrias Davidian) is the largest salamander and one of the heaviest amphibians in the world. They can grow up to 5.9 feet in length and weigh up to 130 pounds. Although a giant salamander from southern China can grow in size, there is not enough evidence to support this claim. Their bodies usually appear dark brown with a mottled pattern, but they can be red, black, or albino. They are also called “baby fish” in Chinese because of their habit of barking, whining and crying as they did when they were children.
For 170 million years, Chinese giant salamanders have lived throughout China, but now their range is highly fragmented. In the wild, they prefer to live in rocky crevices near the shores of clean lakes or fast streams. They live in large numbers on farms in China, but some specimens have been released into the rivers of Japan. Their diet includes insects, worms, amphibians, crabs, shrimps, fish and aquatic shrews, which they hunt, feeling the vibrations around them. Since the 1950s, over 80% of its population in the wild has declined. This decline prompted the IUCN to include the Chinese giant salamander on its list of endangered species.
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