Andrias

Andrias; Temporal range: Miocene– recent PreЄ Є O S D C P T J K Pg N
	Andrias japonicus
Scientific classification
Kingdom:	Animalia
Phylum:	Chordata
Class:	Amphibia
Order:	Urodela
Family:	Cryptobranchidae
Genus:	Andrias; Tschudi, 1837
Species
	3, 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 fossils collected in Europe and North America, indicating that the genus formerly had a much wider range.[1] One of these, the German A. scheuchzeri, is sometimes considered synonymous with A. davidianus.

Taxonomy

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

Species

Extant

Scientific name	Common Name	Distribution
Andrias japonicus	Japanese giant salamander	Japan
Andrias davidianus	Chinese giant salamander	China (traditionally considered widespread in the country, but likely restricted to Yangtze River basin)
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.[2] A. sligoi, which was formerly synonymized with A. davidianus, was revived in 2019 for one of these populations.[3]

Extinct

†Andrias scheuchzeri (Miocene to Pliocene of Germany)
†Andrias bohemicus (Miocene of the Czech Republic)
†Andrias matthewi (Miocene of Saskatchewan in Canada and Colorado & Nebraska in the United States)

References

"Fossilworks: Andrias". fossilworks.org. Retrieved 2018-12-24.
"5 Giant Salamander Species Identified—And They're All in Danger". National Geographic News. 2018-05-29. Retrieved 2018-12-24.
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". Ecology and Evolution. 0 (18): 10070–10084. doi:10.1002/ece3.5257. ISSN 2045-7758. PMC 6787787. PMID 31624538.

AmphibiaWeb - Andrias japonicus. Accessed 2008-04-08.
AmphibiaWeb - Andrias davidianus. Accessed 2008-04-08.
Amphibian Species of the World 5.1. Accessed 2008-04-10.

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[1] "Fossilworks: Andrias". fossilworks.org. Retrieved 2018-12-24.

[2] "5 Giant Salamander Species Identified—And They're All in Danger". National Geographic News. 2018-05-29. Retrieved 2018-12-24.

[3] 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". Ecology and Evolution. 0 (18): 10070–10084. doi:10.1002/ece3.5257. ISSN 2045-7758. PMC 6787787. PMID 31624538.