Scientists from the Zoological Society of London (ZSL) have identified a new species of giant salamander , two meters long, that would hold the position of the world's largest amphibian, according to the journal Nature Ecology and Evolution.
Until now it was believed that Chinese giant salamanders , so called because they are usually found in the center, south and east of the Asian country, belonged to a single species, the Andrias davidianus .
However, the new study has found three genetic lineages sufficiently different to determine that they are three separate species : the Andrias davidianus , the Andrias sligoi and a third one that has not yet been named.
Qualified as "the largest amphibian in the world" has been Andrias sligoi , a native of southern China . The characteristics of a specimen that lived for 20 years in the Zoological Society of London and that is now preserved as a fossil in the Natural History Museum of the British capital speak of a specimen that can reach two meters.
Conservation of the giant salamanders
The over-exploitation of food has caused the decrease in the number of Chinese giant salamanders, which are in danger of extinction . Therefore, scientists hope that this new understanding of their diversity will boost the conservation of existing populations.
"These findings come at a time when urgent interventions are required to save the Chinese giant salamanders that live in the wild," said Melissa Marr, a researcher at the Natural History Museum in London.
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