Experts: 4-1/2-foot-long Chinese giant salamander might be more than 200 years old

CHONGQING , China, Dec. 16 (UPI) — A giant salamander weighing in at more than 100 pounds was discovered in a Chinese cave and experts said it might be more than 200 years old.

The Chinese giant salamander, which belongs to a critically endangered species often called “a living fossil,” was discovered in a cave in Chongqing last week and was taken to a special research facility.

Researchers said the specimen measures 4-1/2 feet long and weighs about 104 pounds.

Experts said the salamander might be more than 200 years old, which would take the record for oldest living land creature away from a 183-year-old tortoise named Jonathan.

Chinese giant salamanders are the largest amphibians in the world, and are listed as critically endangered. The population in the wild has dropped by 80 percent since the 1950s.