Question

The giant salamander is one of the few vertebrates found in the upper reaches of a river. How is this organism specialized to find food?

Answer 1

The Chinese giant salamander uses its sensory nodes, which runs along the sides of the body from head to tail. It's because they have poor eyesight, so they have to rely on their sensory nodes in order to detect potential prey. It allows them to sense minute vibrations in the water around them, which shows them the location of their prey.

Answer 2

The Chinese giant salamander (Andrias davidianus) is the largest salamander and can reach a length of up to 6 feet or 1.8 meters.

They are characterized by

1. poor eyesight
2. Sensory nodes run along the sides of the Chinese giant salamander's body from head to tail, enabling it to detect prey.

• So as a compensation to it's poor eyesight, the giant salamander detects prey by sensing their vibrations in the water using its sensory nodes.
• They are more active at night, on the prowl for food, and they hole up in underwater hollows and cavities during the day.
• They feed using an efficient suction technique.

Cheers!