# What kind of animal eats most infrequently?

**URL:** <https://boards.straightdope.com/t/what-kind-of-animal-eats-most-infrequently/434547>\
**Category:** Factual Questions\
**Created:** [January 22, 2008, 7:34pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/what-kind-of-animal-eats-most-infrequently/434547 "2008-01-22T19:34:40Z")\
**Posts on this page:** 4\
**Page:** 2

<div class="post-metadata">

**Author:** ![Sri\_Theo](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/s/f04885/32.png) [@Sri\_Theo](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Sri_Theo)\
**Post date:** [January 23, 2008, 5:15pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/what-kind-of-animal-eats-most-infrequently/434547/21 "2008-01-23T17:15:09Z")

</div>

The Chinese giant salamander grows up to 1.8m long and only has to eat once a decade. That most surely be in the running.

It’s technical name is Andrias davidianus- maybe you can do something with that?

[http://www.arkive.org/species/GES/amphibians/Andrias\_davidianus/](http://www.arkive.org/species/GES/amphibians/Andrias_davidianus/)

> **[World's 'weird' amphibians face extinction](https://www.independent.co.uk/climate-change/news/world-s-weird-amphibians-face-extinction-771339.html)**
>
> What do a blind salamander that can go without food for a decade, a frog so small that it fits on a drawing pin and another that lives only in the human burial grounds have in common?

---

<div class="post-metadata">

**Author:** ![ivylass](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/i/9de053/32.png) [@ivylass](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/ivylass)\
**Post date:** [January 23, 2008, 5:36pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/what-kind-of-animal-eats-most-infrequently/434547/22 "2008-01-23T17:36:41Z")

</div>

My question is…do you think people who will use the software will know what you’re talking about with the name? Or will it be one of those explaining-the-punch-line sort of things?

---

<div class="post-metadata">

**Author:** ![glee](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/g/b5a626/32.png) [@glee](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/glee)\
**Post date:** [January 23, 2008, 5:43pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/what-kind-of-animal-eats-most-infrequently/434547/23 "2008-01-23T17:43:31Z")

</div>

It may not be what you want, but don’t cicadas spend up to 17 years dormant?

Then they emerge en masse, pig out for a few weeks and go back again.

---

<div class="post-metadata">

**Author:** ![Colibri](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/colibri/32/1841_2.png) [@Colibri](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Colibri)\
**Post date:** [January 23, 2008, 5:54pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/what-kind-of-animal-eats-most-infrequently/434547/24 "2008-01-23T17:54:21Z")

</div>

[QUOTE=glee]  
It may not be what you want, but don’t cicadas spend up to 17 years dormant?  
[/quote]

Some species of cicada spend 17 years as immatures feeding below ground (not dormant). Then they dig out and molt into adults.

> [@](#):
>
> Then they emerge en masse, pig out for a few weeks and go back again.

Well, no. The adults spend almost all their time looking for mates, then die after laying eggs. They don’t re-enter the soil.

[Previous page](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/what-kind-of-animal-eats-most-infrequently/434547.md?page=1)