A drawing of a Japanese giant salamander

Japanese giant salamander Facts for Kids

Andrias japonicus · AN-dree-us jah-PON-ih-kus

A giant salamander with tiny eyes that feels the water to find food.

🏃 speed: not yet checked
⚖️ 51 lb23 kg1
📏 4.9 ft1.5 m1 long
🎂 70 years70 years1
🍽️ meat
Needs help (Vulnerable)

The Japanese giant salamander is one of the biggest amphibians. It lives in cold, clear rivers in Japan. In the daytime it hides under rocks.

Its eyes are very small, so it senses the water instead. Tiny bumps on its head and body feel movement in the water, which is how it finds fish and crabs at night. It breathes mostly through its wrinkly skin, so it needs cool, fast, clean water.

The Japanese giant salamander belongs to a small family of giant salamanders that includes the Chinese giant salamander and the North American hellbender. It is slow and quiet, and spends its days in a burrow in the riverbank or under rocks. Dams, concrete river walls and dirty water hurt it, so in Japan it is protected as a special natural monument and people work to keep its rivers clean.

How big is a Japanese giant salamander?

🧒 our measuring child, 4 ft1.2 m🐸 Japanese giant salamander, 5 ft1.5 m long

Japanese giant salamander in numbers

Length	4.9 ft1.5 m1up to
Height at the shoulder	no checked number yet
Weight	51 lb23 kg1up to
Top speed	no checked number yet
How long it lives	70 years70 years1more than
What it eats	fish, crabs, frogs and insects
Where it lives	cold, clear mountain rivers in western Japan
What kind	Amphibians
Is it in danger?	Needs help (Vulnerable)2

A number we couldn’t find on a page we trust says so, instead of guessing.

Wow!

It is closely related to the hellbender.
It is protected in Japan as a special natural monument.
Tiny bumps on its skin feel the water move.

Compare the Japanese giant salamander

Friends and neighbours

Three questions

What does the Japanese giant salamander eat?

BugsTiny sea lifeMeat

The answer: Meat. It eats fish, crabs, frogs and insects.

Where does the Japanese giant salamander live?

OceanSavannaPonds

The answer: Ponds. It lives in cold, clear mountain rivers in western Japan.

Which is longer, the Japanese giant salamander or the lion?

The lionThe Japanese giant salamanderThey're the same

The answer: The lion. Look at them side by side on the compare stage.

Books about the Japanese giant salamander, free at the library

Ask a grown-up to tap the button: it shows where to borrow a book about the Japanese giant salamander for free.

Where these numbers come from

Smithsonian's National Zoo, checked 30 October 2026.
Wikidata, from the IUCN Red List, checked 30 October 2026.
Wikidata, Japanese giant salamander (Q112045), checked 30 October 2026.