Gallery: Absurd Creature of the Week: The Human-Sized Salamander That Smells Like Pepper
01GIANT-SALAMANDER
Hugs! *Image: NGT / National Geographic Creative*
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The giant salamander's characteristic skin folds give it more surface area, which is handy when that's how you absorb oxygen. But it's not so handy for swimsuit season. *Image: [Theodore Papenfus](http://calphotos.berkeley.edu/cgi/img_query?enlarge=0000+0000+0712+1776)*
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The giant salamander has tiny eyes and very poor eyesight, hunting primarily by smell and by sensing vibrations in the water. You might notice it looks perpetually surprised, as if taken aback by how much weight it's put on recently. *Image: Courtesy [Peter Janzen](http://calphotos.berkeley.edu/cgi/img_query?enlarge=1111+1111+1111+3761)*
05Ke---Andrias-japonicus
When the fossil of the giant salamander's extinct cousin *Andrias scheuchzeri* was discovered, it was reckoned to be a human, specifically a human who had died in Noah's flood. This, let's face it, was a really silly thing to think. The modern specimen shown here is even *less* likely to have been a casualty of Noah's flood. *Image: [Wikimedia](http://commons.wikimedia.org/wiki/File:Ke_-_Andrias_japonicus.jpg)*
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07Andrias-japonicus-pair
Giant salamanders greet each other by doing absolutely nothing in particular. Just kidding. They sometimes [get all scrappy](http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=KmJbJ2mKrVY). *Image: [Wikimedia](http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/File:Andrias_japonicus_pair.jpg)*
