Demand for exotic food has pushed the world’s largest amphibian, the Chinese giant salamander, to the brink of extinction in the wild, a study has shown.
The ancient creatures, which date back 170 million years, have all but disappeared from their traditional freshwater habitats, say researchers.
Giant salamanders have been depicted in Chinese culture for thousands of years, but in recent times have become a highly coveted delicacy.
A giant salamander photographed in Guangxi Province, China (Robert Murphy/PA)
To satisfy growing demand, the amphibians – which can grow to a length of six feet (1.8 metres) – are routinely harvested from the wild to stock commercial breeding farms.
Evidence of the creatures’ plight has come from field surveys at 97 sites in 23 Chinese provinces over a period of four years.
Dr Samuel Turvey, a member of the research team from the Zoological Society of London (ZSL), said: “The over-exploitation of these incredible animals for human consumption has had a catastrophic effect on their numbers in the wild over an amazingly short time-span.
“Unless co-ordinated conservation measures are put in place as a matter of urgency, the future of the world’s largest amphibian is in serious jeopardy.”
The Chinese giant salamander is already categorised as critically endangered in the International Union for Conservation of Nature (IUCN) Red List of Threatened species.
China officially prohibits the harvesting of wild giant salamanders, but supports widespread releases of farmed animals as a conservation measure.
Paradoxically, this may be harming wild populations by mixing genetic lineages and spreading disease, said the scientists writing in the journal Current Biology.
Co-author Dr Fang Yan, from the Kunming Institute of Zoology, said: “It’s essential that suitable safeguards are put in place to protect the unique genetic lineage of these amazing animals, which dates back to the time of the dinosaurs.”
A related study, also published in Current Biology, shows that the Chinese giant salamander consists of not one but at least five different species, all heading for extinction.
Why are you making commenting on The Herald only available to subscribers?
It should have been a safe space for informed debate, somewhere for readers to discuss issues around the biggest stories of the day, but all too often the below the line comments on most websites have become bogged down by off-topic discussions and abuse.
heraldscotland.com is tackling this problem by allowing only subscribers to comment.
We are doing this to improve the experience for our loyal readers and we believe it will reduce the ability of trolls and troublemakers, who occasionally find their way onto our site, to abuse our journalists and readers. We also hope it will help the comments section fulfil its promise as a part of Scotland's conversation with itself.
We are lucky at The Herald. We are read by an informed, educated readership who can add their knowledge and insights to our stories.
That is invaluable.
We are making the subscriber-only change to support our valued readers, who tell us they don't want the site cluttered up with irrelevant comments, untruths and abuse.
In the past, the journalist’s job was to collect and distribute information to the audience. Technology means that readers can shape a discussion. We look forward to hearing from you on heraldscotland.com
Comments & Moderation
Readers’ comments: You are personally liable for the content of any comments you upload to this website, so please act responsibly. We do not pre-moderate or monitor readers’ comments appearing on our websites, but we do post-moderate in response to complaints we receive or otherwise when a potential problem comes to our attention. You can make a complaint by using the ‘report this post’ link . We may then apply our discretion under the user terms to amend or delete comments.
Post moderation is undertaken full-time 9am-6pm on weekdays, and on a part-time basis outwith those hours.
Read the rules hereLast Updated:
Report this comment Cancel