| Jiangxi giant salamander | |
|---|---|
 | |
Scientific classification  | |
| Domain: | Eukaryota |
| Kingdom: | Animalia |
| Phylum: | Chordata |
| Class: | Amphibia |
| Order: | Urodela |
| Family: | Cryptobranchidae |
| Genus: | Andrias |
| Species: | A. jiangxiensis |
| Binomial name | |
| Andrias jiangxiensis Lu et al, 2022 | |
The Jiangxi giant salamander (Andrias jiangxiensis) is a species of very large salamander endemic to Jiangxi Province in China. [1] [2] It is the only Chinese Andrias species known to have a genetically pure wild population. [3]
Prior to 2018, all giant salamanders in China were thought to belong to a single species: the Chinese giant salamander (A. davidianus), the largest known amphibian species. However, a major genetic study that year found deep divergences between lineages of the Chinese giant salamander, with many genetically distinct clades restricted to different river basins, and thus proposed it to be a species complex comprising at least 5 different species. In addition, none of these species were known to have native wild populations, with most wild individuals being releases from salamander breeding farms and belonging to multiple different lineages or hybrids between them. One of the lineages identified in the study was named clade U2, but its exact geographic origin remained uncertain due to the only specimens being of farm-bred individuals. [4]
Despite the 2018 study finding no evidence of wild Chinese giant salamander populations, other researchers found these assessments to be biased, with much of the survey effort being targeted within either a single county (Guizhou) or in regions that were predicted to have suitable habitat but had no historic records of giant salamanders. For this reason, targeted surveys involving closed nature reserves (national nature reserves inaccessible to the public) were taken from 2020 to 2022. This led to the discovery of a breeding population of giant salamanders in the Jiulingshan National Nature Reserve in Jing’an County, Jiangxi Province. Genetic analysis of this population found it to be genetically pure with no evidence of intermixing with translocated individuals, and also found them to match with the U2 clade identified in previous studies. This lineage was thus described as a distinct species, Andrias jiangxiensis. [3]
A. jiangxiensis is the second-most basal known member of the Chinese Andrias lineages, with only the unnamed Clade E being more basal (although the 2018 study instead found both to be sister groups to one another). It is thought to be the sister group to all other identified Chinese Andrias lineages, including A. davidianus , A. sligoi , and several undescribed species. A. jiangxiensis and its sister group are thought to have split from Clade E during the early Pliocene, about 4.95 million years ago. [3]
The Jiangxi giant salamander is thought to be restricted to Jiangxi Province in China. It is known to have been densely distributed around two towns in Jing’an County prior to the 1990s, but by 2020, wild populations were only known from Jiulingshan National Nature Reserve. [3]
A. jiangxiensis differs from the three previously described Chinese and Japanese Andrias species by having a smooth head with indistinct tubercules. [3]
Due to its very small distribution that is vulnerable to environmental changes, it has been recommended that this species be classified as Critically Endangered on the IUCN Red List. In contrast to many other regions of China, giant salamanders are not regularly consumed around the range of A. jiangxiensis, and they are viewed significantly more positively compared to the negative views seen in other regions. Two small-scale farms are known near the wild range of this species, but A. jiangxiensis is the only species bred in them, as their owners refused to farm other species of giant salamander aside from the local one. [3]
The hellbender, also known as the hellbender salamander, is a species of aquatic giant salamander endemic to the eastern and central United States. It is the largest salamander in North America. A member of the family Cryptobranchidae, the hellbender is the only extant member of the genus Cryptobranchus. Other closely related salamanders in the same family are in the genus Andrias, which contains the Japanese and Chinese giant salamanders. The hellbender, which is much larger than all other salamanders in its geographic range, employs an unusual means of respiration, and fills a particular niche—both as a predator and prey—in its ecosystem, which either it or its ancestors have occupied for around 65 million years. The species is listed as Vulnerable on the IUCN Red List of Threatened Species.
The Cryptobranchidae are a family of fully aquatic salamanders commonly known as the giant salamanders. They include the largest living amphibians. The family is native to China, Japan, and the eastern United States. They constitute one of two living families—the other being the Asiatic salamanders belonging to the family Hynobiidae—within the Cryptobranchoidea, one of two main divisions of living salamanders.
The Père David's deer, also known as the milu or elaphure, is a species of deer native to the subtropical river valleys of China. It grazes mainly on grass and aquatic plants. It is the only extant member of the genus Elaphurus. Some experts suggest demoting Elaphurus to a subgenus of Cervus. Based on genetic comparisons, Père David's deer is closely related to Eld's deer.
The Chinese mountain cat, also known as Chinese desert cat and Chinese steppe cat, is a small wild cat endemic to western China that has been listed as vulnerable on the IUCN Red List since 2002, as there may be fewer than 10,000 breeding adults in the wild.
The Wuyi Mountains or Wuyishan are a mountain range located in the prefecture of Nanping, in northern Fujian province near the border with Jiangxi province, China. The highest peak in the area is Mount Huanggang at 2,158 metres (7,080 ft) on the border of Fujian and Jiangxi, making it the highest point of both provinces; the lowest altitudes are around 200 metres (660 ft). Many oolong and black teas are produced in the Wuyi Mountains, including Da Hong Pao and lapsang souchong, and are sold as Wuyi tea. The mountain range is known worldwide for its status as a refugium for several rare and endemic plant species, its dramatic river valleys, and the abundance of important temples and archeological sites in the region, and is a UNESCO World Heritage Site.
The South China tiger is a population of the Panthera tigris tigris subspecies that is native to southern China. The population mainly inhabited the Fujian, Guangdong, Hunan and Jiangxi provinces. It has been listed as Critically Endangered on the China's Red List of Vertebrates and is possibly extinct in the wild since no wild individual has been recorded since the late 1980s. In the late 1990s, continued survival was considered unlikely because of low prey density, widespread habitat degradation and fragmentation, and other environmental issues in China. In the fur trade, it used to be called Amoy tiger.
The Japanese giant salamander is a species of fully aquatic giant salamander endemic to Japan. With a length of up to 5 feet (1.5 m), it is the third-largest salamander in the world, only being surpassed by the very similar and closely related Chinese giant salamander and the South China giant salamander.
The Chinese giant salamander is one of the largest salamanders and one of the largest amphibians in the world. It is fully aquatic, and is endemic to rocky mountain streams and lakes in the Yangtze river basin of central China. Either it or a close relative has been introduced to Kyoto Prefecture in Japan and to Taiwan. It is considered critically endangered in the wild due to habitat loss, pollution, and overcollection, as it is considered a delicacy and used in traditional Chinese medicine. On farms in central China, it is extensively farmed and sometimes bred, although many of the salamanders on the farms are caught in the wild. It has been listed as one of the top-10 "focal species" in 2008 by the Evolutionarily Distinct and Globally Endangered project.
The Himalayan wolf is a canine of debated taxonomy. It is distinguished by its genetic markers, with mitochondrial DNA indicating that it is genetically basal to the Holarctic grey wolf, genetically the same wolf as the Tibetan and Mongolian wolf, and has an association with the African wolf. No striking morphological differences are seen between the wolves from the Himalayas and those from Tibet. The Himalayan wolf lineage can be found living in Ladakh in the Himalayas, the Tibetan Plateau, and the mountains of Central Asia predominantly above 4,000 m (13,000 ft) in elevation because it has adapted to a low-oxygen environment, compared with other wolves that are found only at lower elevations.
Quasipaa spinosa is a species of frog in the family Dicroglossidae. It is known under many common names, including Chinese spiny frog, giant spiny frog, Chinese edible frog, and spiny paa frog. Its names refer to the distinctive characteristics of the species, relatively large size and the spiny chest of male frogs. Giant in frog terms only, it can nevertheless grow to lengths above 10 cm (4 in); this makes it the largest frog in Hong Kong.
Evolutionarily Distinct and Globally Endangered (EDGE) species are animal species which have a high 'EDGE score', a metric combining endangered conservation status with the genetic distinctiveness of the particular taxon. Distinctive species have few closely related species, and EDGE species are often the only surviving member of their genus or even higher taxonomic rank. The extinction of such species would therefore represent a disproportionate loss of unique evolutionary history and biodiversity.
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, and A. sligoi reaching 1.80 metres. 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.
Nankangia is an extinct genus of caenagnathoid oviraptorosaurian dinosaur known from the Upper Cretaceous Nanxiong Formation of Nankang County, Ganzhou City of Jiangxi Province, southeastern China. It contains a single species, Nankangia jiangxiensis. N. jiangxiensis coexisted with at least four other caenagnathoids, including but not limited to Corythoraptor, Banji, Ganzhousaurus and Jiangxisaurus. The relatively short dentary and non-downturned mandibular symphysis of Nankangia suggest that it may have been more herbivorous than carnivorous. Its diet consisted of leaves and seeds.
The South China giant salamander may be the largest species of salamander and the largest amphibian in the world. It is endemic to southern China, mainly in the Pearl River basin south of the Nanling Mountains. It is extremely endangered and may no longer exist in the wild.
Brachytarsophrys orientalis, the Oriental short-legged toad, is a species of litter frog in the family Megophryidae. It is native to Jiangxi and Fujian in southeastern China. It is the easternmost species within the genus Brachytarsophrys, hence the specific name orientalis.
The Popa langur is a species of primate in the family Cercopithecidae. It occurs only in Myanmar and was named after Mount Popa, where a population of 100 of the monkeys live. It is listed as Critically Endangered on the IUCN Red List, as the wild population is thought to comprise 200 to 250 mature individuals.
The Dabie Mountains shrew mole is a species of mammal in the family Talpidae and genus Uropsilus. It is endemic to Anhui Province in China, where, as its name suggests, it is only known from the Dabie Mountains.
The Indochinese grey langur is a species of lutung native to East and Southeast Asia.
Pelodiscus shipian is a species of turtle in the family Trionychidae. Like its closest relatives, Pelodiscus huangshanensis and Pelodiscus axenaria, the species is endemic to China. Especially Pelodiscus axenaria is morphologically similar to Pelodiscus shipian, and these species may have been confused with each other in the past; Pelodiscus shipian was described only in 2022.