Chinese giant salamander: Where It Lives, Map & Facts

Where the Chinese giant salamander lives – recorded in 1 country, with quick facts from Wikidata and an introduction from Wikipedia.

Scientific name	Andrias davidianus
Group	Salamanders, newts & caecilians
Status	Critically endangered (Wikidata, IUCN category label)
Found in	1 country
Continents	Asia
Class	Amphibian
Order	Caudata
Family	Cryptobranchidae

Where does the Chinese giant salamander live?

Open-licence (CC0 / CC BY) wild records published on GBIF place the Chinese giant salamander in 1 country or territory across Asia. Wikidata lists it as endemic to People's Republic of China.

China

Countries with at least a handful of records (a minimum share of the species’ records, to leave out vagrants and escapes). Records with coordinates only; captive and fossil records excluded.

Is the Chinese giant salamander endangered?

The Chinese giant salamander’s conservation status recorded in Wikidata is “Critically endangered” (an IUCN Red List category label). Source: Wikidata.

What kind of animal is the Chinese giant salamander?

The Chinese giant salamander (Andrias davidianus) is an amphibian in the order Caudata and the family Cryptobranchidae, genus Andrias. (Taxonomy from Wikidata.)

About the Chinese giant salamander

The Chinese giant salamander (Andrias davidianus) is the largest salamander and the largest amphibian in the world. It is fully aquatic, and is endemic to rocky mountain streams and lakes in the Yangtze river basin of central China. It has also been introduced to Kyoto Prefecture in Japan, and possibly to Taiwan. It is considered critically endangered in the wild due to habitat loss, pollution, and overcollection, as it is considered a delicacy and used in traditional Chinese medicine. On farms in central China, it is extensively farmed and sometimes bred, although many of the salamanders on the farms are caught in the wild. It has been listed as one of the top-10 "focal species" in 2008 by the Evolutionarily Distinct and Globally Endangered project.

Text in “About” is quoted from the Wikipedia article Chinese giant salamander (revision 1380991911), licensed under CC BY-SA 4.0. Changes: lead section excerpted verbatim, formatting removed. Quick facts, taxonomy and status: Wikidata Q61312 (CC0). Countries and pin: GBIF.org occurrence records (CC0 / CC BY 4.0).