Japan finds specimen of world’s largest endangered amphibian

Tokyo, Feb 26 (EFE).- Researchers from Kyoto University confirmed the discovery of specimens of the Chinese giant salamander, the largest living amphibian in the world, in aquariums and zoos in Japan that had previously misidentified them as hybridizations of other species.

This amphibian (andrias davidianus) can measure 1.8 meters and weigh 50 kilograms, and the Red List of the International Union for Conservation of Nature – an exhaustive inventory of the global status of animals, fungi and plants – lists it as «critically endangered» the state before extinction in the wild.

The discovery, announced this month, came as a team of scientists led by Professor Nishikawa Kanto analyzed, using tissue samples, the genetics of 73 salamanders from fields, aquariums or zoos in Japan that they believed were descended from Chinese salamanders, to study their hybridization.

The Chinese giant salamander inhabited areas in the south of the country, but its numbers decreased considerably due to excessive capture for sale or intensive breeding in farms, since its meat is considered a delicacy in China. It is now only found in four locations with streams clear and cold in vegetated and steep valleys.

This species, which is also used in traditional Chinese medicine, was introduced to Japan in the past, leading to crossbreeding with native species, but the team of scientists found four specimens of the original species as part of an investigation whose results were published in the journal “Scientific Reports.”

Of the four Chinese giant salamanders identified, one was at the Sunshine Aquarium in Tokyo and another at the Asa Zoological Park in Hiroshima, and Kanto believes there could be more specimens that have not been identified as such in other centers in Japan.

Kanto proposes «taking advantage of this news as an opportunity to think about the role of invasive species,» a «very difficult problem to solve» because its consequences can be «both positive and negative» but which can make us reflect, he said at the time of the announcement.

Researchers at Kyoto University intend to work on the preservation of the Chinese giant salamander and be able to practice its reproduction or cloning using stored salamander cells, national public broadcaster NHK reported. EFE

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