The Chinese giant salamanders have existed since the time of the dinosaurs, about 350 million years ago.

Despite their poor eyesight, they’re adept at catching their prey with a sideways snap of their mouth by sensing vibrations in the water.

Their repertoire of calls includes one that sounds like the mewling of a human infant. For this, ‘baby fish’ has stuck as its Chinese common name.

The Chinese giant salamanders absorb oxygen from the water for respiration through their scale-less, bumpy, moist skin. As they require clean, cool water, they find it hard to survive in the polluted lower course of the river. Instead, they live in the upper stretches of the river with clean freshwater with high oxygen content. Sadly, poor water quality has led to habitat degradation for this species. They are also overharvested as a delicacy and for medicinal purposes.