The Cryptobranchidae are a family of large salamanders that are fully aquatic. The family includes some of the largest living amphibians. They are native to China, Japan, and the eastern United States. Giant salamanders constitute one of two living families—the other being the Asiatic salamanders belonging to the family Hynobiidae—within the Cryptobranchoidea, one of two main divisions of living salamanders.
The genus Onychodactylus, commonly known as clawed salamanders, is composed of three species, all endemic to eastern Asia. O. koreanus is found on the Korean peninsula, while O. fischeri is found in the Russian Far East and O. japonicus is found in Japan, on the islands of Shikoku and Honshū. All species are lungless with moderately developed parotoid glands. They inhabit moist, forested mountains near small rivers, streams, and lakes. Adults of each species can reach a length of 19 cm.
The Japanese giant salamander is a species of fully aquatic giant salamander endemic to Japan, occurring across the western portion of the main island of Honshu, with smaller populations present on Shikoku and in northern Kyushu. With a length of up to 5 feet (1.5 m), it is the third-largest salamander in the world, only being surpassed by the very similar and closely related Chinese giant salamander and the South China giant salamander.
Tylototriton shanjing, the emperor newt, Mandarin newt or Mandarin salamander, is a highly toxic newt native to Yunnan and parts of South China. It is sometimes seen in private collections, and is sometimes available for sale at certain reptile and amphibian-specializing pet stores and occasionally through captive breeders.
Onychodactylus fischeri, also known as Fischer's clawed salamander or Russian clawed salamander, is a lungless salamander found in the Russian Far East. It was thought to have ranged throughout Northeast Asia, but this was based on paraphyletic species assignment, and the Chinese and Korean populations are now considered as distinct species.
Anderson's crocodile newt, Anderson's newt, Ryukyu spiny newt, or Japanese warty newt is a species of salamander in the family Salamandridae found in the Ryukyu Islands of Japan, and, at least formerly, Mount Guanyin in northern Taiwan, where it is now believed to be extinct.
The Pyrenean brook salamander or Pyrenean newt, , is a largely aquatic species of salamander in the family Salamandridae. It is found in the Pyrenees of Andorra, France, and Spain. The IUCN lists it as least concern.
The Corsican brook salamander or Corsican mountain newt is a species of salamander in the family Salamandridae. It is endemic to Corsica, an island in the Mediterranean Sea.
The Hakuba salamander or Japanese mountain salamander is a species of salamander in the family Hynobiidae. This salamander is also synonymous with the mountain salamander. It is endemic to Japan. Its natural habitats are temperate forests, rivers, swamps, freshwater springs, and plantations. It is threatened by habitat loss.
Hynobius naevius, also known as the spotted salamander, Sagami salamander, Japanese salamander, and blotched salamander, is a species of salamander in the family Hynobiidae. It is endemic to northwestern Kyushu, Japan. Earlier records from Honshu represent other species.
The imitator salamander is a species of salamander in the family Plethodontidae. It is endemic to the Appalachian Mountains in the southeastern United States.
Dunn's salamander is a species of salamander in the family Plethodontidae endemic to the western United States.
The red-cheeked salamander, also known as the Jordan's salamander, Jordan's redcheek salamander, or Appalachian woodland salamander, is a species of salamander in the family Plethodontidae. It is endemic to the Appalachian Mountains in the southeastern United States.
The spotted-tail or spotted-tailed salamander is a species of brook salamander in the family Plethodontidae. This species is, somewhat vaguely, referred to by the common name of 'cave salamander'; however, it is not restricted to dwelling inside deep caverns, but is known for inhabiting surface-level, terrestrial, woodland habitats, as well. More often than not, the common name 'cave salamander' refers to the "true" cave salamanders, such as the olm of Europe. It is rarely used to refer to the axolotl, another species which, like the olm, inhabits caves that never see daylight, thus lacking skin pigment and having extremely poor eyesight when compared with the vivid orange and bright-eyed spotted-tail salamander. Additionally, true cave salamanders, including the olm, spend their entire lives as fully-aquatic amphibians, while the spotted-tail salamander is not limited to an exclusively amphibious lifestyle.
Angiostoma is a genus of parasitic nematodes in the family Angiostomatidae.
Onychodactylus fuscus, the Tadami clawed salamander, is a species of clawed salamander from Japan. It is known to occur in four different localities in the Fukushima and Niigata Prefectures, including Tadami and Sanjō. The species grows 14 centimetres (5.5 in) to 16 centimetres (6.3 in) long, and differs from the Japanese clawed salamander by having a long tail and wide head, as well as lacking a dorsal stripe. O. fuscus lives in streams and breeds during the winter. The species is closely related to Onychodactylus intermedius. It shares much of its habitat with O. japonicus, but the two species are reproductively isolated.
The South China giant salamander is a species of very large salamander endemic to southern China, mainly in the Pearl River basin south of the Nanling Mountains. It may be the largest species of salamander and the largest amphibian in the world. It is extremely endangered and nearly extinct in the wild.
The Okada's five-lined skink or Far Eastern skink is a species of lizard which is endemic to Japan.
