Largest living amphibian

The world’s largest extant amphibians are the Chinese giant salamanders (genus Andrias) native to rivers and streams in central, southern and eastern China (and now also introduced to Japan). The largest reported individual to date – captured near Guiyang, Guizhou Province, China, in the 1920s – measured 1.75 metres (5 feet 9 inches) long, though a more typical length for wild specimens today is around 1.15 metres (3 feet 9 inches). Long thought to consist of a single species (Andrias davidianus), a study published in Ecology and Evolution on 16 September 2019 identified two new members of the family: the South China giant salamander (A. sligoi) and another as-yet-unnamed species. Scientists were able to make this discovery by comparing the DNA of preserved museum specimens along with the distinct eco-regions where the salamanders were collected from the wild. Given the provenance of the 1.8-metre record-setting specimen, there is now good reason to believe that it was, in fact, an example of A. sligoi, not A. davidianus.

The 2019 study was a collaboration between the Zoological Society of London, the Natural History Museum (both UK), the Royal Ontario Museum (Canada) and the Chinese Academy of Sciences (China), led by Professor Samuel Turvey of the Zoological Society of London.

Due to mixed preservation techniques and varying ages of the specimens, it’s not yet known what anatomical differences there may be between the three species of Chinese giant salamander. The unnamed species (from the mountainous Huangshan region) was identified only through tissue samples, not a complete specimen.

Habitat destruction, pollution and for food, including for a recently developing farming industry that supports a luxury food market, have all contributed to the widespread decline of Chinese giant salamanders. A. davidianus is currently listed as Critically Endangered by the IUCN and it’s suspected that the two newly identified species are even more under threat.

Beyond Chinese giant salamanders, there are two further giant salamanders in the Cryptobranchidae family: the Japanese giant salamander (Andrias japonicus) and the hellbender salamander (Cryptobranchus alleganiensis) native to the USA. By contrast, they can reach up to 150 cm (4 ft 11 in) and 75 cm (2 ft 5 in) in length, respectively.