Biology:Andrias

From HandWiki
Short description: Genus of amphibians

Andrias
Temporal range: Chattian–recent
Andrias japonicus cropped.jpg
Andrias japonicus
Scientific classification e
Domain: Eukaryota
Kingdom: Animalia
Phylum: Chordata
Class: Amphibia
Order: Urodela
Family: Cryptobranchidae
Genus: Andrias
Tschudi, 1837
Type species
Andrias japonicus
Temminck, 1836
Species

7 (including 2 extinct), see text

Synonyms

Megalobatrachus

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]

Taxonomy

The generic name derives from Ancient Greek ἀνδριάς, "statue". The former name was Megalobatrachus, from Ancient Greek meaning "giant frog".

Phylogeny

This phylogeny is based on Chai et al (2022).[2] and Vasilyan et al (2013)[3]

Cryptobranchus alleganiensis

Andrias

Andrias scheuchzeri

Andrias japonicus

Andrias cheni

Andrias jiangxiensis

Andrias sp. "A"

Andrias davidianus (Andrias sp. B & C)

Andrias sligoi

Andrias sp. "U1"

Alternative phylogeny by Fang et al (2018).[4]

Cryptobranchus alleganiensis

Andrias

Andrias scheuchzeri

Andrias japonicus

Andrias sp. "A"

Andrias davidianus (Andrias sp. B & C)

Andrias sligoi

Andrias sp. "U1"

Andrias jiangxiensis

Andrias cheni

Species

Extant species

Image Scientific name Common name Distribution
Andrias cheni Qimen giant salamander Eastern China (Huangshan Mountains in Anhui Province)
2009 Andrias davidianus.JPG Andrias davidianus Chinese giant salamander China (traditionally considered widespread in the country, but likely restricted to Yangtze River basin)
Andrias japonicus in KYOTO AQUARIUM13-r.jpg Andrias japonicus Japanese giant salamander Japan
Andrias jiangxiensis.png Andrias jiangxiensis Jiangxi giant salamander Eastern China (Jiangxi Province)
AndriasSligoi.jpg 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.[5] 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.[6][7][8]

Fossil species

Image Scientific name Common name Distribution Age
Andrias matthewi size comparison.jpg Andrias matthewi Matthew's giant salamander United States and Canada early-middle Miocene
Andrias schleuchzeri.jpg Andrias scheuchzeri Central Europe, possibly Central Asia and Western Siberia late Oligocene-late Pliocene

References

  1. "Fossilworks: Andrias". http://www.fossilworks.org/cgi-bin/bridge.pl?a=taxonInfo&taxon_no=37351. 
  2. Chai, Jing; Lu, Chen-Qi; Yi, Mu-Rong; Dai, Nian-Hua; Weng, Xiao-Dong; Di, Ming-Xiao; Peng, Yong; Tang, Yong et al. (2022-05-18). "Discovery of a wild, genetically pure Chinese giant salamander creates new conservation opportunities" (in en). Zoological Research 43 (3): 469–480. doi:10.24272/j.issn.2095-8137.2022.101. ISSN 2095-8137. PMID 35514224. 
  3. 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. 
  4. Yan, Fang; Lü, Jingcai; Zhang, Baolin; Yuan, Zhiyong; Zhao, Haipeng; Huang, Song; Wei, Gang; Mi, Xue et al. (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. 
  5. "5 Giant Salamander Species Identified—And They're All in Danger". 2018-05-29. https://news.nationalgeographic.com/2018/05/chinese-giant-salamander-species-animals/. 
  6. 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" (in en). Ecology and Evolution 9 (18): 10070–10084. doi:10.1002/ece3.5257. ISSN 2045-7758. PMID 31624538. 
  7. Chai, Jing; Lu, Chen-Qi; Yi, Mu-Rong; Dai, Nian-Hua; Weng, Xiao-Dong; Di, Ming-Xiao; Peng, Yong; Tang, Yong et al. (2022-05-18). "Discovery of a wild, genetically pure Chinese giant salamander creates new conservation opportunities" (in en). Zoological Research 43 (3): 469–480. doi:10.24272/j.issn.2095-8137.2022.101. ISSN 2095-8137. PMID 35514224. PMC 9113980. https://www.zoores.ac.cn/en/article/doi/10.24272/j.issn.2095-8137.2022.101. 
  8. Frost, Darrell. "Andrias cheni Xu, Gong, Li, Jiang, Huang, and Huang, 2023". https://amphibiansoftheworld.amnh.org/Amphibia/Caudata/Cryptobranchidae/Andrias/Andrias-cheni. 

Wikidata ☰ Q922164 entry