The longest amphibian species on record, ranked by maximum reported total length: three giant salamanders, two caecilians, two amphiumas, two sirens and the hellbender.
The Chinese giant salamander (Andrias davidianus) is the longest amphibian on record, with a 1.8 m individual documented at a farm in Zhangjiajie in 2007. Thompson's caecilian is second at 1.767 m, the maximum in a 2025 study of 77 specimens, and the South China giant salamander third at 1.75 m. Ranked by maximum reported total length, as of October 2026.
Most amphibians are small, but a handful of salamanders and caecilians grow longer than a person is tall. This list ranks amphibian species by the longest total length (snout to tail tip) reported for the species in a citable source, so you can see how the Asian giant salamanders compare with the Colombian caecilian that rivals them and the eel-like amphiumas and sirens of the southeastern United States. The Chinese giant salamander was split into several species from 2019 onward. Turvey and colleagues showed that what had been called Andrias davidianus contains several genetically distinct lineages, and the Pearl River lineage was named the South China giant salamander, Andrias sligoi. The historic 1.75-1.8 m specimen from near Guiyang may belong to that species, but its DNA cannot be checked, so this list ranks each species on the specimen that sources attribute to it.
The Chinese giant salamander holds the longest well-documented record: a 1.8 m individual kept at a farm in Zhangjiajie in 2007, reported at 59 kg. Guinness reports a 1.8 m Hunan specimen at 65 kg. Wild animals today are much smaller; Guinness gives around 1.15 m as typical.
Thompson's caecilian is the largest caecilian, a legless burrowing amphibian. Guinness and most references give about 1.5 m. A 2025 study by Lynch and Fernández-Roldán in Phyllomedusa measured 77 specimens from the Magdalena Valley of Colombia and reports a maximum total length of 1,767 mm.
The South China giant salamander was split from the Chinese giant salamander in 2019. Guinness credits it with the largest reported individual, a salamander captured near Guiyang in the 1920s that it measures at 1.75 m (other accounts say 1.8 m). The specimen's identity rests on its origin, because its DNA cannot be tested.
Japan's giant salamander is the third of the Andrias giants. A captive male in Tottori Prefecture measured 143 cm and weighed 44.3 kg, the heaviest on record for the species. The largest wild specimen on record, per AmphibiaWeb, was 136 cm and 26.3 kg.
The two-toed amphiuma is the longest salamander in the United States. It is an eel-like aquatic salamander with tiny, almost useless legs. The Virginia Herpetological Society lists a record of 45.8 in (116.2 cm).
The three-toed amphiuma is the two-toed's close relative in the Mississippi drainage. AmphibiaWeb gives adults 46-106 cm total length, and the commonly cited record is 42 in (1.06 m). Animal Diversity Web lists 117 cm, a figure we could not trace to a specimen.
The greater siren is an eel-like salamander of the southeastern United States. It has external gills and front legs only. The Florida Museum gives its record as about 98 cm (Conant and Collins 1998), against an average of 51-76 cm.
Atretochoana eiselti is a Brazilian aquatic caecilian and the largest tetrapod known to have no lungs. The largest measured specimen, in Brasília, is 80.5 cm long. Hoogmoed and colleagues (2011) wrote that field specimens reach about one metre, but they gave no exact measurement.
The hellbender is North America's giant salamander and a relative of the Andrias species. AmphibiaWeb gives a total length of 30-74 cm, and Virginia's state record for a female is 29.1 in (74 cm).
The lesser siren is the smaller cousin of the greater siren. AmphibiaWeb, citing Petranka (1998), gives adults 18-69 cm total length. That is the top of a size range, not a named record specimen.
| # | Name | Scientific name | Group | Record basis |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| 1 | Chinese giant salamander (Andrias davidianus) | Andrias davidianus | Salamander (Cryptobranchidae) | 1.8 m farm individual, Zhangjiajie, 2007 |
| 2 | Thompson's caecilian (Caecilia thompsoni) | Caecilia thompsoni | Caecilian (Caeciliidae) | 1,767 mm maximum in a 77-specimen study (2025) |
| 3 | South China giant salamander (Andrias sligoi) | Andrias sligoi | Salamander (Cryptobranchidae) | 1.75 m Guiyang specimen, 1920s (Guinness) |
| 4 | Japanese giant salamander (Andrias japonicus) | Andrias japonicus | Salamander (Cryptobranchidae) | 143 cm captive male, Tottori (died 2003) |
| 5 | Two-toed amphiuma (Amphiuma means) | Amphiuma means | Salamander (Amphiumidae) | 116.2 cm record (Virginia Herpetological Society) |
| 6 | Three-toed amphiuma (Amphiuma tridactylum) | Amphiuma tridactylum | Salamander (Amphiumidae) | 106 cm, top of AmphibiaWeb adult range |
| 7 | Greater siren (Siren lacertina) | Siren lacertina | Salamander (Sirenidae) | ~98 cm record (Conant and Collins 1998) |
| 8 | Atretochoana (Atretochoana eiselti) | Atretochoana eiselti | Caecilian (Typhlonectidae) | 80.5 cm Brasília specimen |
| 9 | Hellbender (Cryptobranchus alleganiensis) | Cryptobranchus alleganiensis | Salamander (Cryptobranchidae) | 74 cm, top of AmphibiaWeb range |
| 10 | Lesser siren (Siren intermedia) | Siren intermedia | Salamander (Sirenidae) | 69 cm, top of Petranka (1998) range |
Species are ranked by maximum reported total length in metres (snout to tail tip), longest first. For each species we use the largest individual or the top of the size range given by the cited source (Guinness World Records, AmphibiaWeb, peer-reviewed papers, museum and state herpetological records). Captive or farmed individuals count where a source documents them. Frogs and toads have no tail, so their total length is their snout-to-vent length, and the largest, the Goliath frog at 36.83 cm (Guinness), is far below the top 10. Where sources disagree, the item says so. Taxonomy follows the post-2019 split of the Chinese giant salamander. The newer species Andrias jiangxiensis and Andrias cheni are left out because we found no published maximum length for them.
On documented specimens, the Chinese giant salamander (1.8 m farm individual, Zhangjiajie, 2007). The South China giant salamander, split off as a separate species in 2019, may grow just as large. Guinness credits it with the 1.75 m Guiyang specimen of the 1920s, but that animal's species cannot be confirmed.
Frogs have no tail, so even the largest are far shorter than the salamanders and caecilians here. Guinness lists the largest frog as a Goliath frog from the Sanaga River, Cameroon, at 36.83 cm snout-to-vent and 3.66 kg.
Caecilians are legless, mostly burrowing amphibians of the tropics, the third amphibian order alongside frogs and salamanders. Two make this list: Thompson's caecilian of Colombia, the largest at up to 1,767 mm, and the lungless Atretochoana eiselti of Brazil.
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