A New Species of the Giant Salamander of the Genus Andrias from Qimeng, Anhui, China (Amphibia:Cryptorchiidae)
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1.Anhui Province Key Laboratory of the Conservation and Exploitation of Biological Resource, College of Life Sciences, Anhui Normal University, Wuhu 241000; 2.College of Life and Environment Sciences, Huangshan University, Huangshan 245021; 3.Huangshan Noah Biodiversity Institute, Huangshan 245000; 4.College of Fisheries and Life Science, Shanghai Ocean University, Shanghai 201306;5.State Key Laboratory of Biodiversity and Biosafety for Environmental Protection, Research Center for Biodiversity Conservation and Biosafety, Nanjing Institute of Environmental Sciences, Ministry of Ecology and Environment, Nanjing 210042;6.Anhui Province Qimen Snake-bite Institute, Qimen 245600, China

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Q959

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    Abstract:

    [Objectives] The Chinese Giant Salamanders, the largest amphibian in the world, wear once widely distributed in China. Previous three molecular studies showed that the Huangshan population of Chinese Giant Salamander has unique differentiation, and is an undescribed species. The molecular data of the three molecular studies were based on the indigenous Chinese Giant Salamander specimens collected by the corresponding author from Qimen County, Huangshan City, Anhui Province, China before 1995. In the present study, based on the morphological characteristics, we describe 11 specimens collected by the corresponding author before 1995 in Qimen County as a new species: Andrias cheni sp. nov. [Methods] The 25 morphological characteristics of the 11 specimens were measured, and compared with those of the species of the genus Andrias. [Results] The new species distinguished by a combination of the following characters: (1) the head and torso are flat, head slightly longer than wide, and the HW/HL ratio was 0.80 to 0.98 (Table 1); (2) head and lower jaw relatively smooth, with small tubercles arranged irregularly; (3) lateral neck fold discontinuous with body fold at forelimb insertion; (4) finger Ⅲ longer than finger I, finger lengths formula Ⅰ < Ⅳ < Ⅲ <Ⅱ; (5) limbs are thick and short, and the hind limbs are longer than the fore limbs, and the FLL/PLL ratio was 0.78﹣0.96; (6) the tail is muscular, thick at base, gradually flattening posteriorly, and distally, the tail length is about 1/3 of the total length. [Conclusion] In the present study, morphological comparisons were used to describe the Qimen Giant Salamander as a new species, then the number of the species in the genus Andrias was increased to five. This study provided relatively complete morphological data, which could provide references for the resource conservations of wild lineages, genetic management of artificial populations, and artificial breeding and releasing.

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GONG Yan-An, XU Jing-Cheng, HUANG Song, HUANG Ru-Yi, LI Jia-Qi, JIANG Yong-Qiang, YANG Dian-Cheng, YU Jing, ZHANG Yi, LI Wen-Jing. 2023. A New Species of the Giant Salamander of the Genus Andrias from Qimeng, Anhui, China (Amphibia:Cryptorchiidae). Chinese Journal of Zoology, 58(5): 651-657.

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  • Received:July 03,2023
  • Revised:
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  • Online: October 19,2023
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