Megalobatrachus davidianus Skull Replica measures 3.8 inches. Megalobatrachus davidianus Skull is museum quality polyurethane cast. Made in USA. 2-part skull (separate cranium and jaw). Our precise skull can be used as a teaching tool, museum skull exhibit, home decor skull, or office decor skull.
The Megalobatrachus davidianus or Giant Salamander is known to vocalize, making barking, whining, hissing, or crying sounds. Some of these vocalizations bear a striking resemblance to the crying of a young human child, and as such, it is known in the Chinese language as the “infant fish”.
They have a broad, flat head with tiny, lidless eyes set on top. The vomerine teeth parallel the maxillary tooth rows in a long arc. The lower jaw is equipped with a series of small sensory tubercles that help this completely aquatic giant navigate its surroundings and hunt its prey of fish and crustaceans.
It is considered critically endangered in the wild due to habitat loss, pollution, and overcollection, as it is considered a delicacy and used in traditional Chinese medicine.
On farms in central China, the Megalobatrachus davidianus or Giant Chinese Salamander is extensively farmed and sometimes bred, although many of the salamanders on the farms are caught in the wild. It has been listed as one of the top-10 “focal species” in 2008 by the Evolutionarily Distinct and Globally Endangered project.
The Chinese Giant Salamander is considered to be a “living fossil”. Although protected under Chinese law and CITES Appendix I, the wild population has declined by more than an estimated 80% since the 1950s.
Although traditionally recognized as one of two living species of Andrias salamander in Asia, the other being the Japanese giant salamander, evidence indicates that the Chinese giant salamander may be composed of at least five cryptic species, further compounding each individual species’ endangerment.
The Megalobatrachus davidianus has been recorded feeding on insects, millipedes, horsehair worms, amphibians (both frogs and salamanders), freshwater crabs, shrimp, fish (such as Saurogobio and Cobitis), and Asiatic water shrew.
Presumably ingested by mistake, plant material and gravel have also been found in their stomachs. Cannibalism is frequent; in a study of 79 specimens from the Qinling–Dabashan range, the stomach content of five included remains of other Chinese Giant Salamanders and this made up 28% of the combined weight of all food items in the study.
The most frequent items in the same study were freshwater crabs (found in 19 specimens), which made up 23% of the combined weight of all food items.
Based on a captive study, most activity is from the earlier evening to the early night. Most individuals stop feeding at water temperatures above 20 °C (68 °F) and feeding ceases almost entirely at 28 °C (82 °F). Temperatures of 35 °C (95 °F) are lethal to Chinese Giant Salamanders.
