Japanese giant salamander

Japanese giant salamander
Japanese giant salamander in Tottori Prefecture, Japan
Scientific classification Edit this classification
Domain: Eukaryota
Kingdom: Animalia
Phylum: Chordata
Class: Amphibia
Order: Urodela
Family: Cryptobranchidae
Genus: Andrias
Species:
A. japonicus
Binomial name
Andrias japonicus
(Temminck, 1836)
Japanese giant salamander range
Synonyms[2]
List
    • Triton japonicus
      Temminck, 1836
    • Megalobatrachus sieboldi
      Tschudi, 1837
    • Salamandra maxima
      Schlegel, 1837
    • Hydrosalamandra japonica
      — Leuckart, 1840
    • Sieboldia maxima
      — Gray, 1850
    • Cryptobranchus japonicus
      — Van der Hoeven, 1838
    • Salamandra gigas
      A.M.C. Duméril, Bibron &
      A.H.A. Duméril, 1854
    • Tritomegas sieboldii
      — A.M.C. Duméril, Bibron &
      A.H.A. Duméril, 1854
    • Megalobatrachus maximus
      — Boulenger, 1882
    • Cryptobranchus maximus
      — Chapman, 1893
    • Andrias japonicus
      — Lapparent, 1900
Japanese giant salamanders in Tottori Prefecture, Japan, showing notable color variation among individuals within the same population.
Andrias japonicus skull

The Japanese giant salamander (Andrias japonicus) is a species of fully aquatic giant salamander endemic to Japan, occurring across the western portion of the main island of Honshu, with smaller populations present on Shikoku and in northern Kyushu. With a length of up to 5 feet (1.5 m),[4] it is the third-largest salamander in the world, only being surpassed by the very similar and closely related Chinese giant salamander and the South China giant salamander.

It is known in Japanese as Ōsanshōuo (オオサンショウウオ/大山椒魚), literally meaning "giant salamander". Other local names include Hanzaki[5], Hanzake[6], and Ankou.[5] This salamander was first catalogued by Europeans when the resident physician of Dejima Island in Nagasaki, Philipp Franz von Siebold, captured an individual and shipped it back to Leiden in the Netherlands, in the 1820s. The species was designated as a special natural monument in 1951, and is protected by the Central Government.[7] It is one of the only six species of giant salamanders in the world.

  1. ^ IUCN SSC Amphibian Specialist Group (2022). "Japanese Giant Salamander". IUCN Red List of Threatened Species. 2022. Retrieved 9 December 2022.
  2. ^ "Amphibian Species of the World - Andrias japonicus (Temminck, 1836)". Research.amnh.org. Archived from the original on 2009-03-26. Retrieved 2010-02-04.
  3. ^ "Appendices | CITES". cites.org. Retrieved 2022-01-14.
  4. ^ Andrias japonicus - Amphibiaweb
  5. ^ a b "What is the Hanzaki Research Institute of Japan?". 日本ハンザキ研究所 (in Japanese). Retrieved 2021-11-17.
  6. ^ "ハンザケ資料展示室". よりみちにちなん (in Japanese). 2020-02-29. Retrieved 2021-11-17.
  7. ^ オオサンショウウオ (in Japanese). The Agency for Cultural Affairs. Retrieved 2011-09-24.