Wednesday, December 16, 2015

Fisherman Discovers 200-Year-Old Chinese Giant Salamander

A fisherman in southwest China stumbled upon a 200-year-old Chinese giant salamander weighing over 100 pounds. The four-and-a-half foot long specimen greatly surpasses the average lifespan of the critically endangered species. Giant salamanders are thought to live 80 years in the wild. The salamander found in China has been transferred to a research facility for study.

An adult Japanese Giant Salamander(Andrias japonicas).

Species of the giant salamander are found in both China (Andrias davidianus) and Japan (Andrias japonicas). Oddly enough, the closest relative to these living fossils is the Hellbender (Cryptobranchus alleganiensis) found in eastern North America. The hellbender, on average, grows to half the size of the giant species. KU Herpetology Collections Manager Luke Welton says giant salamanders diverged from the hellbender 65 million years ago.

Despite the distance between their homes, all three species have similar habitats and lifestyles. Welton says the three species spend little time on land due to poorly developed lungs, and instead absorb most of their oxygen through folds of skin on their sides. As a result of this preference, all three prefer cold, fast-running streams and lakes. Salamanders often seek refuge beneath large submerged rocks and boulders.

Several specimens of the hellbender and both species of giant salamander are part of the KU Biodiversity Institute Herpetology Collections.

A KU Herpetology lab snaps a selfie before releasing a hellbender found in the Niangua river near Bennet Springs, Missouri.



Monday, August 17, 2015

Marsupial Frogs: Gastrotheca & Allied Genera by William E. Duellman

Curator Emeritus Bill Duellman saw two books published in the Summer of 2015: Herpetology at Kansas: A Centennial History (published by SSAR) and Marsupial Frogs: Gastrotheca & Allied Genera (published by Johns Hopkins Press). Here, from it's back cover, is a bit more detail on the marsupial frogs book that is now available via Johns Hopkins Press: "This scientific masterpiece reveals many aspects of the lives of marsupial frogs and closely allied genera. Native to central and south America, these amphibians differ from other frogs in that they protect their eggs after oviposition by either adhering them to the female's back or placing them in a specialized dorsal pouch (thus the common name, marsupial frog). During mating, the male typically collects the eggs from the female with his feet - often one at a time and always out of water - fertilizes them, and then tucks them into the female's pouch or attaches them to her back. In some species these eggs hatch as tadpoles, but most emerge as minatures of the adults. Even among the tadpoles there is remarkable convergence, with some behaving in the typical manner (feeding and metamorphosing) and others not feeding until they metamorphose. In Marsupial Frogs, William E. Duellman's synthesis of all that is known about the  unique family Hemiphractidae is largely based on decades of his own careful laboratory and field study. He reveals the diversity of the frog's exotic color patterns and geographic distribution. More than 200 photographs, illustrations, and maps accompany the detailed text. This exceptional reference should find its way into the libraries of serious herpetologists, tropical biologists, and developmental biologists."