No.16 Japanese giant salamander

The Japanese giant salamander is one of the world's largest amphibians and a designated Japanese Special Natural Monument, living mainly in the upper and middle reaches of rivers in parts of Honshu, Shikoku, and Kyushu west of Gifu. Individuals are generally 50 cm to 70 cm in length, but have been observed to have grown up to 150 cm in captivity. Carnivores, they have the habit of biting anything that appears in front of them and eat a wide range of food, including king crabs, amphibians, freshwater fish, and aquatic insects.

The photographing of the giant salamander was conducted at the request of the Usa City Board of Education in Oita Prefecture. This giant salamander was found dead in an irrigation channel in a rice field in Usa City by a local farmer, and the Usa City Board of Education secured it and kept it frozen in cooperation with the Kitakyushu Municipal Museum of Life and History. Because it was one of the larger CT scan targets at approximately 73 cm in length, this was the first time a large machine (millifocus CT) was used in the CT bio-illustration book.

The skeleton of this species is similar to that of the red-bellied newt, the same amphibian species previously described in the CT bio-illustrated book. On the other hand, the sharply developed plow-tooths on the inner side of the upper jaw suggest a high ability to catch prey. The digestive tract still contains traces of prey eaten during its life, showing the shape of crustacean claws and the bones of both legs of frogs.

This salamander was temporarily provided by the Usa City Board of Education as a frozen specimen after death, and is photographed and posted here with permission.