Mother Nature never ceases to amaze, as scientists have now confirmed a long-standing suspicion regarding the Chinese giant salamander.
As their name implies, Chinese giant salamanders are quite sizable, reaching lengths of up to 6.6 feet.
They have held the title of the largest amphibian in the world for some time, but a recent study has made a surprising discovery.
Previously thought to be a single species, Chinese giant salamanders are now confirmed to be multiple distinct species, according to a paper published on October 3 in the Evolutionary Journal of the Linnean Society.
The researchers involved in the study hope their findings will be swiftly acknowledged to ensure proper conservation measures are in place to protect these creatures.
Experts caution that without intervention, some species of Chinese giant salamanders might become extinct before they are officially identified.
Professor Samuel Turvey, a researcher at ZSL’s Institute of Zoology and one of the paper’s authors, highlighted this threat.
He remarked: “Chinese giant salamanders are recognized as Critically Endangered, mainly due to overexploitation of wild populations to support a salamander farming industry that stocks China’s luxury food market.
“All of the species we’ve now identified are thus at high risk of disappearing forever. If we are to avoid losing the world’s largest amphibians, we need to act urgently to ensure that these newly-recognized species are formally recognized and legally protected.”
Scientists have suspected for a while that there might be more diversity among these giant amphibians, but they only recently acquired sufficient data to back up their claims.
Turvey further stated: “The possibility that Chinese giant salamanders may not be a single species has been suggested by researchers for 20 years, but by comparing levels of genetic difference seen across giant salamander populations with differences shown by other known salamander species, we can now confirm this for sure.”
The misconception that all Chinese giant salamanders belong to the same species has complicated their conservation.
This has led to the movement of salamanders between farms across China into habitats where they would not naturally occur.
When they are either released on purpose or escape from farms into rivers, they risk disrupting local ecosystems.
Additionally, since species are not separated in farms, there is a danger of different species interbreeding, as Turvey noted.
It remains to be seen whether this discovery will prompt new laws to both protect and recognize the distinct species.