🐸 Hellbender vs Japanese giant salamander 🐸
The Japanese giant salamander is about twice as long as the hellbender. The Japanese giant salamander weighs about 10 times as much as the hellbender.
| Row | 🐸 Hellbender | 🐸 Japanese giant salamander |
|---|---|---|
| Top speed Neither has a checked number yet. | no checked number yet | no checked number yet |
| Weight The Japanese giant salamander weighs about 10 times as much as the hellbender. | 4.9 lb2.2 kg1 | 51 lb23 kg2 |
| Lives The Japanese giant salamander usually lives about twice as long as the hellbender. | 40 years40 years3 | 70 years70 years2 |
| Eats Both eat meat. | crayfish, small fish and insects | fish, crabs, frogs and insects |
| Lives in They can live in the same kind of place. | cool, clear mountain streams in the eastern United States | cold, clear mountain rivers in western Japan |
Which one? Hellbender or Japanese giant salamander
🏁 Who would win the race?
We don't have a checked top speed for the hellbender or the Japanese giant salamander yet, so there is no race.
We only race. Real animals mostly avoid each other. A race is the only fair contest: who reaches the tree first, by top speed.
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Getting the animals ready…
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The link carries only the two animals’ names: peabody.kids/animals/compare/hellbender-vs-japanese-giant-salamander
Where these numbers come from
- Smithsonian's National Zoo, checked 30 October 2026.
- Smithsonian's National Zoo, checked 30 October 2026.
- U.S. Fish and Wildlife Service, 'A Salamander's Struggle for Survival', checked 30 October 2026.