Chinese giant salamander (娃娃鱼) a.k.a ‘baby fish’ due to the sound they make that sounds like a baby crying.
The Chinese giant salamander is one of the largest salamanders and one of the largest amphibians in the world. It is fully aquatic and is endemic to rocky mountain streams and lakes in the Yangtze river basin of central China.
The Chinese giant salamander is considered to be a “living fossil”. Although protected under Chinese laws, its population has faced severe declined over the last 70 years and is currently (2022) listed as threatened. There are evidence indicating that the Chinese giant salamander may be composed of at least five cryptic species, further compounding each individual species’ endangerment.
today’s funky frog of the day: the san jose cochran frog (Cochranella euknemos)!!!! these frogs are found in costa rica, colombia, and panama. they usually live in lowlands and forests! unfortunately, they are threatened by habitat loss, specifically from deforestation.
the wallcreeper is a passerine bird found in high mountains, their range spinning from southern europe to central china. a fairly nondescript gray and black bird, the wallcreeper avoids the eye until they spread their distinctive crimson wings. their primary prey, insects, are hunted by inching & hopping along rock faces and reaching into crevices, often in a ‘crawling’ motion, earning these birds their name. they are often silent, yet remain fiercely territorial. males and females both participate in rearing the young. both sexes display the brilliant crimson plumage; the only difference one might spot when observing is that females typically only sing when defending territory, as opposed to the male’s more frequent relaxed singing.
