Andrias is a genus of giant salamanders that includes the largest extant amphibians in the world. These include species such as Andrias japonicus which can reach a length of , and Andrias sligoi which can reach a length of .
While extant species are known only 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.
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). and Vasilyan et al (2013)
Alternative phylogeny by Fang et al (2018).
Species
Extant species Image Scientific name Common name DistributionAndrias cheniQimen giant salamanderEastern China (Huangshan Mountains in Anhui Province) Andrias davidianus Chinese giant salamander Central China (traditionally considered widespread in the country, but likely restricted to Yangtze River basin), introduced to Kyoto Prefecture, Japan Andrias japonicus Japanese giant salamander Southern Japan (southern Honshu, Kyushu, and Shikoku)Andrias jiangxiensisJiangxi giant salamanderEastern China (Jiangxi Province) Andrias sligoi South China giant salamander Southern China (Pearl River basin)Andrias yaoluopingensisYuexi and Anhui, China 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 five different species. 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.
Fossil species
Image Scientific name Common name Distribution Age †Andrias matthewiMatthew's giant salamanderUnited States and Canadaearly-middle Miocene †Andrias scheuchzeri Central Europe, possibly Central Asia and Western Siberialate Oligocene-late Pliocene
References
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.