They eat snakes and each other: the life of giant salamanders from the secret rivers and lakes of America (5 photos)

There are quite famous Chinese and Japanese giant salamanders. These are the largest amphibians in the world. They are huge. But there is another interesting salamander, which is also huge, but slightly smaller than the first two. This is an Allegheny cryptobranch.





Finally, a worthy amphibian has been found, capable of punishing the reptilians for their crimes!

The giant reaches 60-70 cm and lives up to 50 years. I chose crystal clear reservoirs in North and South America as my place of residence. However, the salamander's requirements for cleanliness of the reservoir are so great that the species is on the verge of extinction.



Hey, this water isn't clean enough. Bring a new one!

Their entire body is covered with folds, and the folds are covered with a mass of capillaries. This is a mechanism to breathe underwater using the skin. Adult cryptobranchs do not have gills, so they breathe over the entire surface of their body.





How I want to stroke these folds!

The salamander itself is an ambush predator. Pretending to be a log or a stone at the bottom, it suddenly rushes at a fish, snake or one of its relatives in order to immediately swallow it. Yes, cannibalism is normal in their environment. However, the animal is not dangerous to humans, unless, of course, you shove your fingers into its mouth.



A small cheat sheet. Clickable, you can open more if you click on the picture.

During the breeding season, male cryptobranchs dig small holes at the bottom. Then the females move there, lay eggs, and the males fertilize them. After this, the man will look after the offspring for another 3 months! It is believed that the Allegheny cryptobranchs have not changed in the process of evolution for a very long time. Perhaps they were exactly the same tens of millions of years ago. I decided to tell you about such a sweet recluse today. Thank you for your attention, write in the comments which animal you would like to read about on our channel.



When I realized that I had been asleep for several million years, and the world had changed slightly.