Andrias is a genus of giant salamanders. It includes the largest salamanders in the world, with A. japonicus reaching a length of 1.44 metres (4 ft 9 in), and A. sligoi reaching 1.80 metres (5 ft 11 in). While extant species are only known from East Asia, several extinct species in the genus are known from late Oligocene and Neogene aged fossils collected in Europe and North America, indicating that the genus formerly had a much wider range.[1]
| Andrias Temporal range:
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| Andrias japonicus | |
Scientific classification 
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| Domain: | Eukaryota |
| Kingdom: | Animalia |
| Phylum: | Chordata |
| Class: | Amphibia |
| Order: | Urodela |
| Family: | Cryptobranchidae |
| Genus: | Andrias Tschudi, 1837 |
| Type species | |
| Andrias japonicus Temminck, 1836
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| Species | |
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7 (including 2 extinct), see text | |
| Synonyms | |
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Megalobatrachus | |
Taxonomy
editThe generic name derives from Ancient Greek ἀνδριάς, "statue". The former name was Megalobatrachus, from Ancient Greek meaning "giant frog".
Phylogeny
editThis phylogeny is based on Chai et al (2022).[2] and Vasilyan et al (2013)[3]
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Alternative phylogeny by Fang et al (2018).[4]
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Species
editExtant species
edit| Image | Scientific name | Common name | Distribution |
|---|---|---|---|
| Andrias cheni | Qimen giant salamander | Eastern China (Huangshan Mountains in Anhui Province) | |
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Andrias davidianus | Chinese giant salamander | Central China (traditionally considered widespread in the country, but likely restricted to Yangtze River basin), introduced to Kyoto Prefecture, Japan[5] |
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Andrias japonicus | Japanese giant salamander | Southern Japan (southern Honshu, Kyushu, and Shikoku) |
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Andrias jiangxiensis | Jiangxi giant salamander | Eastern China (Jiangxi Province) |
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Andrias sligoi | South China giant salamander | Southern China (Pearl River basin) |
Based on genetic evidence, there may be more extant species in the genus. A study in 2018 found that A. davidianus sensu lato was a species complex that consisted of at least 5 different species.[6] A. sligoi, which was formerly synonymized with A. davidianus, was revived in 2019 for one of these populations. Another one of these was described as A. jiangxiensis in 2022, and another as A. cheni in 2023.[7][8][9]
Fossil species
edit| Image | Scientific name | Common name | Distribution | Age |
|---|---|---|---|---|
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†Andrias matthewi | Matthew's giant salamander | United States and Canada | early-middle Miocene |
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†Andrias scheuchzeri | Central Europe, possibly Central Asia and Western Siberia | late Oligocene-late Pliocene |
References
edit- ^ "Fossilworks: Andrias". fossilworks.org. Retrieved 17 December 2021.
- ^ Chai, Jing; Lu, Chen-Qi; Yi, Mu-Rong; Dai, Nian-Hua; Weng, Xiao-Dong; Di, Ming-Xiao; Peng, Yong; Tang, Yong; Shan, Qing-Hua; Wang, Kai; Liu, Huan-Zhang (2022-05-18). "Discovery of a wild, genetically pure Chinese giant salamander creates new conservation opportunities". Zoological Research. 43 (3): 469–480. doi:10.24272/j.issn.2095-8137.2022.101. ISSN 2095-8137. PMC 9113980. PMID 35514224.
- ^ Vasilyan, D.; Böhme, M.; Chkhikvadze, V. M.; Semenov, Y. A.; Joyce, W. G. (2013). "A new giant salamander (Urodela, Pancryptobrancha) from the Miocene of Eastern Europe (Grytsiv, Ukraine)". Journal of Vertebrate Paleontology. 33 (2): 301. doi:10.1080/02724634.2013.722151. S2CID 85930910.
- ^ Yan, Fang; Lü, Jingcai; Zhang, Baolin; Yuan, Zhiyong; Zhao, Haipeng; Huang, Song; Wei, Gang; Mi, Xue; Zou, Dahu (2018). "The Chinese giant salamander exemplifies the hidden extinction of cryptic species". Current Biology. 28 (10): R590–R592. doi:10.1016/j.cub.2018.04.004. ISSN 0960-9822. PMID 29787716.
- ^ Nishikawa, Kanto; Matsui, Masafumi; Yoshikawa, Natsuhiko; Tominaga, Atsushi; Eto, Koshiro; Fukuyama, Ibuki; Fukutani, Kazumi; Matsubara, Kohei; Hattori, Yasunari; Iwato, Shohei; Sato, Tsukasa; Shimizu, Zenkichi; Onuma, Hirokazu; Hara, Sotaro (2024-01-31). "Discovery of ex situ individuals of Andrias sligoi, an extremely endangered species and one of the largest amphibians worldwide". Scientific Reports. 14 (1): 2575. doi:10.1038/s41598-024-52907-6. hdl:2433/286948. ISSN 2045-2322.
- ^ "5 Giant Salamander Species Identified—And They're All in Danger". National Geographic News. 2018-05-29. Archived from the original on May 30, 2018. Retrieved 2018-12-24.
- ^ Turvey, Samuel T.; Marr, Melissa M.; Barnes, Ian; Brace, Selina; Tapley, Benjamin; Murphy, Robert W.; Zhao, Ermi; Cunningham, Andrew A. (2019). "Historical museum collections clarify the evolutionary history of cryptic species radiation in the world's largest amphibians". Ecology and Evolution. 9 (18): 10070–10084. doi:10.1002/ece3.5257. ISSN 2045-7758. PMC 6787787. PMID 31624538.
- ^ Chai, Jing; Lu, Chen-Qi; Yi, Mu-Rong; Dai, Nian-Hua; Weng, Xiao-Dong; Di, Ming-Xiao; Peng, Yong; Tang, Yong; Shan, Qing-Hua; Wang, Kai; Liu, Huan-Zhang (2022-05-18). "Discovery of a wild, genetically pure Chinese giant salamander creates new conservation opportunities". Zoological Research. 43 (3): 469–480. doi:10.24272/j.issn.2095-8137.2022.101. ISSN 2095-8137. PMC 9113980. PMID 35514224.
- ^ Frost, Darrell. "Andrias cheni Xu, Gong, Li, Jiang, Huang, and Huang, 2023". Amphibian Species of the World 6.2, an Online Reference.
- AmphibiaWeb - Andrias japonicus. Accessed 2008-04-08.
- AmphibiaWeb - Andrias davidianus. Accessed 2008-04-08.
- Amphibian Species of the World 5.1. Accessed 2008-04-10.