Giant salamander endemic to China, “highly endangered” discovered in Japan. Kyoto University and other institutions are planning to clone individuals in the future.
Due to being hunted in large numbers for food, the species has declined dramatically and is listed as an extremely endangered species on the IUCN Red List. The Sligo Giant Salamander is kept in the backyard of the Sunshine Aquarium in Ikebukuro, Tokyo, and is usually not open to the public. The research team plans to use stored female cells to create cloned individuals in order to prevent extinction.