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 late Oligocene and Neogene aged fossils collected in Europe and North America, indicating that the genus formerly had a much wider range.[1]
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).[2] and Vasilyan et al (2013)[3]
Central China (traditionally considered widespread in the country, but likely restricted to Yangtze River basin), introduced to Kyoto Prefecture, Japan[5]
Based on genetic evidence, there may be more extant species in the genus. A study in 2018 found that A. davidianussensu lato was a species complex that consisted of at least 5 different species.[6]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.[7][8][9]
^Vasilyan, D.; Böhme, M.; Chkhikvadze, V. M.; Semenov, Y. A.; Joyce, W. G. (2013). "A new giant salamander (Urodela, Pancryptobrancha) from the Miocene of Eastern Europe (Grytsiv, Ukraine)". Journal of Vertebrate Paleontology. 33 (2): 301. doi:10.1080/02724634.2013.722151. S2CID85930910.
