 Other closely related salamanders in the same family are in the genus "Andrias", which contains the Japanese and Chinese giant salamanders.The hellbender, which is much larger than all other salamanders in its geographic range, employs an unusual means of respiration (which involves cutaneous gas exchange through capillaries found in its dorsoventral skin folds), and fills a particular niche—both as a predator and prey—in its ecosystem, which either it or its ancestors have occupied for around 65 million years.The species is listed as Near Threatened on the IUCN Red List of Threatened Species.