Asiatic Giant Salamanders and Hellbenders: Cryptobranchidae

Asiatic giant salamanders and hellbenders mainly eat crustaceans and fish. They also eat worms, mollusks, insect larvae, crustaceans, lampreys, fish and fish eggs, frogs and toads and their tadpoles, water-dwelling reptiles, and small mammals as well as the meat of dead animals, their own shed skin and eggs, and one another. Mollusks (MAH-lusks), such as slugs and snails, are animals with a soft, unsegmented body that may or may not have a shell. Larvae (LAR-vee) are animals in an early stage that change form before becoming adults. Crustaceans (krus-TAY-shuns), such as crayfish, are water-dwelling animals that have jointed legs and a hard shell but no backbone.