A new species of giant salamander, described in the journal Zoosystematics and Evolution, has been discovered by a team of researchers in Yaoluoping National Nature Reserve in Anhui Province, China, at an elevation of 948 metres.
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The new species (Andrias yaoluopingensis) belongs to the genus Andrias, which encompasses the largest amphibian species in the world.
The researchers examined two specimens, one male and one female – the male holotype measured a whopping 65cm. That’s small compared to the largest giant salamander on record: a specimen caught in southern China in the 1920s that measured almost 1.8m long, later classified as the South China giant salamander (Andrias sligoi). That animal was an exceptional outlier, though – most wild giant salamanders today are considerably smaller.
Several characteristics differentiate the new species from other known giant salamanders: a notably flat head and trunk, slight webbing between digits, a tan dorsal surface marked with darker blotches, and irregularly distributed tubercles (raised bumps) above the eyes.
Salamanders from the genus Andrias tend to be impressive in size and quite hard to miss – but a lot of them look quite similar, making it harder for scientists to correctly classify them.
For a long time, Chinese giant salamanders were thought to be one widespread species: Andrias davidianus. This has gone through several revisions in recent years, with scientists combining DNA, morphological and molecular evidence to separate them into distinct lineages.
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The new discovery brings the total number of recognised Andrias species worldwide to six. Others include Andrias japonicus, which is endemic to Japan, Andrias cheni, Andrias jiangxiensis, and the previously mentioned Andrias sligoi and Andrias davidianus.
The scientists have emphasised that more field surveys and further classification at the species level is not only necessary, but urgent. Chinese giant salamanders used to be widely distributed in China, but their numbers have dropped in recent years, mostly due to overexploitation and habitat loss and degradation.
Read the full findings here.
Top image: Environment of the sampling location. Credit: Zhihao Jiang and Kai Zhao
