Giant salamander ( Scientific name : Andrias ) is a family of cryptoliers , distributed in Asia , with three species : Chinese giant salamander , American giant salamander , and Japanese giant salamander , which can be found in streams , ponds , and eastern United States in China and Japan. The Chinese giant salamander is commonly known as the "baby fish", taking its call like a baby crying; The Japanese giant salamander is commonly known as "Dashan pepper fish", which originates from its mountain pepper flavor. The American giant salamander (Cryptobranchus alleganiensis) is an aquatic amphibian. It is found in the eastern United States and inhabits rivers and streams with shallow water, fast flow rates and high oxygen content. Fish and shrimp are the main diet, and occasionally carrion. Poor vision and a keen sense of smell. They forage at night, feeding on fish and crustaceans, but due to poor vision, they can only detect changes in water pressure through their head and body perception to prey.
There are tails
Due to the age of the baby fish, scientists have found that its earliest life date may be 350 million years ago, earlier than the dinosaurs. As early as 350 million years ago, the baby fish foresaw today's life, the mother gave birth to a child, and the father took the child. So during mating season, they swim upstream, and after the eggs are fertilized, the males protect the salamanders for at least six months until they are able to hunt on their own.
There are 350 million years old giant salamander fossils
Its growth period: fertilization, ovulation stage, blastocyst stage, prointestinal embryo stage, shoot stage, defoaming stage, incubation stage. The general lifespan is 50 to 120 years, and some say that it can survive up to 300 years. 5 years old adulthood, until old age and death, the skin will not age, eat the mucus secreted by their own body can survive for three years. The injury can secrete mucus to cover the wound without leaving a scar. (Excerpt from "Compendium of Materia Medica", Japanese Pharmacology Book)
Embryonic development of the Chinese giant salamander (Andrias davidianus).
Since 1978, Yang Aisheng has successfully realized the artificial breeding of baby fish, and today, the number of Chinese workers breeding baby fish has reached nearly 10 million, and the Hunan Provincial Giant Salamander Protection and Development Association has been established. There are reports that artificially domesticated baby fish will become food for the general public. In 2009, the Zhangjiajie Giant Salamander Nature Reserve, one of the main settlements of baby fish. At present, the number of giant salamanders in Zhangjiajie has approached 6 million, which can become the food of the general public. And derived from it a number of deep processing industry chains. The characteristics of the baby fish itself have been studied and made into food, health care products, cosmetics, and daily toothpaste soap. At present, Zhangjiajie's brands are: salamander, golden salamander, salamander awesome, salamander and other brands, I believe that under the vigorous promotion of various companies, the breeding and sales problem of baby fish will be solved.
Before scientific research, some people thought that the baby fish meat had a miraculous curative effect, and there was a saying that there were eight treasures.
Excerpt from the Journal of Agriculture
Therefore, it is expensive, often caught by humans to eat, Taiwan has also been popular to eat, a large number of smuggled from Chinese mainland countless. At the peak, the price of baby fish was once fried to tens of thousands of yuan a catty, and now the finished dishes processed by baby fish are only more than 100 RMB to more than 500 RMB.
Because of indiscriminate fishing, coupled with the destruction of the living environment, it is almost on the verge of extinction. In the late 20th century, on the IUCN Red List, baby fish were rated as critically endangered, indicating that their wild populations face a high chance of extinction. At present, wild populations are mainly exposed to overfishing, and habitat destruction has also reduced their living space.
Giant salamander trivia
The 56-year-old brother who farms giant salamanders has hands as tender as those of a young girl.
A display of the hand science and technology museum of the 56-year-old big brother who breeds giant salamanders