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A new species of the Giant Salamander genus Andrias (Amphibia, Urodela, Cryptobranchidae) from Yuexi, Anhui, China

Zhihao Jiang, Ruyi Huang, Jingjing Yang, Kai Zhao, Yixue Zhang, Tierui Zhang, Yucai Zhang, Jun Chu, Jinmin Chen, Song Huang

Abstract

Chinese giant salamanders (genus Andrias), encompassing the largest extant amphibian species in the world, are widespread in China. Several molecular studies have shown that there are several undescribed species of Andrias. A new species, Andrias yaoluopingensis sp. nov., is described, based on mitochondrial genomes and morphological characteristics from Yuexi County, Anqing City, Anhui Province, China. Morphologically, the new species is characterised by the combination of seven external characters: (1) head and trunk flat, head slightly longer than wide; (2) tubercles above the orbit few and irregularly distributed; (3) eye diameter longer than naris diameter; (4) lateral neck fold discontinuous with body fold at fore-limb insertion; (5) interdigital webbing slightly present; (6) finger length formula FIII > FII > FI > FIV; and (7) dorsum tan in life, darker blotches present on trunk. Molecularly, the new species and an undescribed clade (identified in previous studies) of Andrias form an independent clade with strong support (1.00/100) in the phylogenetic trees, based on mitochondrial genomes. The number of species in Andrias now reaches six, but cryptic species richness in the Chinese giant salamanders deserves further attention.

Read the paper here:

AN ENIGMATIC DENTAL PLATE REVEALS A UNKNOWN EAGLE RAY, THE FIRST FOR THE CARIBBEAN AND THE ATLANTIC OF THE AMERICAS

For nearly ten years, a set of mysterious dental plates sat quietly in a small Venezuelan collection, collected by artisanal fishers off the coast of Chichiriviche. No one knew exactly what they belonged to, only that they came from an eagle ray, a group of winged, shell-crushing rays with pavement-like teeth. Now, an international team of researchers has re-examined those plates and made a surprising discovery: likely belong to the genus Aetomylaeus, a group of eagle rays never before documented in the Caribbean Sea or the entire Western Atlantic Ocean.

Using detailed comparisons with museum specimens and fossil records from the Pacific and Eastern Atlantic, the researchers analyzed the shape, arrangement, and proportions of the teeth. The results clearly set the Venezuelan specimen apart from Caribbean eagle rays like Aetobatus narinari (the spotted eagle ray) and local Myliobatis species. Instead, its closest match was with Aetomylaeus bovinus from the Eastern Atlantic and even fossil Aetomylaeus from Chile. This opens three fascinating possibilities: an unknown relict population that survived the closure of the Central American Seaway millions of years ago; a long-distance vagrant from Africa; or, less likely, a hybrid between two known Caribbean genera.

Regardless of which hypothesis proves correct, this finding rewrites a small but important chapter of marine biogeography. Most Aetomylaeus species are already classified as threatened or Data Deficient, and this first modern record in the Caribbean underscores just how little we know about the region's hidden biodiversity. The authors caution that tooth plates alone cannot give a definitive species identification, genetic material would be needed for that—but the evidence is strong enough to call for urgent, expanded surveys of Venezuela's overlooked elasmobranch fauna. In a world where even charismatic rays can go unnoticed for a decade in a museum drawer, this study is a quiet but powerful reminder: sometimes, the most extraordinary discoveries are found not in the open ocean, but in collections waiting for a second look.

So unlike Mario, who continues to be essentially a void with no internality, I actually act with thoughts and intent and already did do that when writing this post.

Guess who? 🥰⁠

So unlike Mario, who continues to be essentially a void with no internality, I actually act with thoughts and intent and already did do that when writing this post.