Andrias
{{Short description|Genus of amphibians}}
{{other uses|Andrias (name)}}
{{Automatic taxobox
| fossil_range = {{Geological range|Chattian|recent}}
| image = Andrias_japonicus_cropped.jpg
| image_caption = Andrias japonicus
| taxon = Andrias
| authority = Tschudi, 1837
| type_species = Andrias japonicus
| type_species_authority = Temminck, 1836
| subdivision_ranks = Species
| subdivision = 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 {{convert|1.44|m|ftin}}, and A. sligoi reaching {{convert|1.80|m|ftin}}. While extant species are known only 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.{{Cite web|url=https://paleobiodb.org/classic/checkTaxonInfo?taxon_no=37351|title=Fossilworks: Andrias|website=fossilworks.org|access-date=17 December 2021}}
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).{{Cite journal |last1=Chai |first1=Jing |last2=Lu |first2=Chen-Qi |last3=Yi |first3=Mu-Rong |last4=Dai |first4=Nian-Hua |last5=Weng |first5=Xiao-Dong |last6=Di |first6=Ming-Xiao |last7=Peng |first7=Yong |last8=Tang |first8=Yong |last9=Shan |first9=Qing-Hua |last10=Wang |first10=Kai |last11=Liu |first11=Huan-Zhang |date=2022-05-18 |title=Discovery of a wild, genetically pure Chinese giant salamander creates new conservation opportunities |journal=Zoological Research |language=en |volume=43 |issue=3 |pages=469–480 |doi=10.24272/j.issn.2095-8137.2022.101 |issn=2095-8137 |pmc=9113980 |pmid=35514224}} and Vasilyan et al (2013){{Cite journal |last1=Vasilyan |first1=D. |last2=Böhme |first2=M. |last3=Chkhikvadze |first3=V. M. |last4=Semenov |first4=Y. A. |last5=Joyce |first5=W. G. |year=2013 |title=A new giant salamander (Urodela, Pancryptobrancha) from the Miocene of Eastern Europe (Grytsiv, Ukraine) |journal=Journal of Vertebrate Paleontology |volume=33 |issue=2 |pages=301 |doi=10.1080/02724634.2013.722151 |s2cid=85930910}}
{{Clade
|1=Cryptobranchus alleganiensis
|label2=Andrias
|2={{clade
|1={{extinct}}Andrias scheuchzeri
|2={{clade
|2={{clade
|2={{clade
|2={{clade
|1=Andrias sp.
|2={{clade
|1=Andrias davidianus (Andrias sp. B & C)
|2={{clade
|2=Andrias sp. "U1"
}}
}}
}}
}}}}}} }}}}
{{Clade
|1=Cryptobranchus alleganiensis
|label2=Andrias
|2={{clade
|1={{extinct}}Andrias scheuchzeri
|2={{clade
|2={{clade
|1=Andrias sp. "A"
|2={{clade
|1=Andrias davidianus (Andrias sp. B & C)
|2={{clade
|1={{clade
|2=Andrias sp. "U1"
}}
|2={{clade
}}
}}
}}
}}
}}}}}}
Species
= Extant species =
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 five different species.{{Cite web|url=https://news.nationalgeographic.com/2018/05/chinese-giant-salamander-species-animals/|archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20180530040436/https://news.nationalgeographic.com/2018/05/chinese-giant-salamander-species-animals/|url-status=dead|archive-date=May 30, 2018|title=5 Giant Salamander Species Identified—And They're All in Danger|date=2018-05-29|website=National Geographic News|access-date=2018-12-24}} 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.{{Cite journal|last1=Turvey|first1=Samuel T.|last2=Marr|first2=Melissa M.|last3=Barnes|first3=Ian|last4=Brace|first4=Selina|last5=Tapley|first5=Benjamin|last6=Murphy|first6=Robert W.|last7=Zhao|first7=Ermi|last8=Cunningham|first8=Andrew A.|title=Historical museum collections clarify the evolutionary history of cryptic species radiation in the world's largest amphibians|journal=Ecology and Evolution|language=en|issue=18|pages=10070–10084|doi=10.1002/ece3.5257|pmid=31624538|pmc=6787787|issn=2045-7758|year=2019|volume=9}}{{Cite journal |last=Chai |first=Jing |last2=Lu |first2=Chen-Qi |last3=Yi |first3=Mu-Rong |last4=Dai |first4=Nian-Hua |last5=Weng |first5=Xiao-Dong |last6=Di |first6=Ming-Xiao |last7=Peng |first7=Yong |last8=Tang |first8=Yong |last9=Shan |first9=Qing-Hua |last10=Wang |first10=Kai |last11=Liu |first11=Huan-Zhang |date=2022-05-18 |title=Discovery of a wild, genetically pure Chinese giant salamander creates new conservation opportunities |url=https://www.zoores.ac.cn/en/article/doi/10.24272/j.issn.2095-8137.2022.101 |journal=Zoological Research |language=en |volume=43 |issue=3 |pages=469–480 |doi=10.24272/j.issn.2095-8137.2022.101 |issn=2095-8137 |pmc=9113980 |pmid=35514224}}{{Cite web |last=Frost |first=Darrell |title=Andrias cheni Xu, Gong, Li, Jiang, Huang, and Huang, 2023 |url=https://amphibiansoftheworld.amnh.org/Amphibia/Caudata/Cryptobranchidae/Andrias/Andrias-cheni |website=Amphibian Species of the World 6.2, an Online Reference}}
= Fossil species =
| class="wikitable"
! Image !! Scientific name !! Common name !! Distribution !! Age |
| 80px
|Matthew's giant salamander |United States and Canada |early-middle Miocene |
| 60px
| |Central Europe, possibly Central Asia and Western Siberia |
References
{{Reflist}}
- [http://amphibiaweb.org/cgi-bin/amphib_query?query_src=aw_lists_genera_&table=amphib&where-genus=Andrias&where-species=japonicus AmphibiaWeb - Andrias japonicus]. Accessed 2008-04-08.
- [http://amphibiaweb.org/cgi-bin/amphib_query?table=amphib&special=one_record&where-genus=Andrias&where-species=davidianus AmphibiaWeb - Andrias davidianus]. Accessed 2008-04-08.
- [http://research.amnh.org/herpetology/amphibia/ Amphibian Species of the World 5.1.] Accessed 2008-04-10.
{{Taxonbar|from=Q922164}}
{{Authority control}}