Celebrating The Giant Pepper Fish

Celebrating The Giant Pepper Fish

By Anna Kay Thomas

The Japanese Giant Salamander is endemic to Japan and is the second-largest amphibian in the world. The flat-headed, wrinkly, and brownish salamander grows up to five feet and weighs around fifty to eighty pounds. Its mouth resembles that of Stitch from Lilo and Stitch, with its ability to open its jaws to the full width of its body. 

Eating frogs, fish, worms, and insects in the wild, it can live to be over fifty years of age. It is nocturnal and, when feeling threatened, the salamander releases a pepper-like odor in its defense. This secret weapon earned it the nickname “giant pepper fish”. 

The males are called “den masters” because they live in and protect their burrows in streambeds. These burrows are found where the flowing water produces the most oxygen for them to breathe through their skin. They are notably one of the few amphibians where the males provide sole parental care of the eggs and hatchlings. 

Japan’s main island, Honshu, in the Okayama Prefecture, hosts an annual giant salamander festival called “Hanzaki Matsuri”, with parade floats. The Japanese Giant Salamander is called “Hanzaki”, which means “cut in half”, because of the traditional belief of its ability to regenerate when cut in half. It also relates to a legend that a warrior allowed himself to be eaten by one and used his sword to free himself, unleashing the wrath of the salamander’s spirit on the locals. Wishing you the best on your environmental trek!

Reflective Questions:

What creature do you think deserves a festival?

Photography by Anna Kay Thomas