Andrias

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 1.44 metres (4ft 9in), and Andrias sligoi which can reach a length of 1.80 metres (5ft 11in).

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

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

• . Accessed 2008-04-08.
• . Accessed 2008-04-08.
• Accessed 2008-04-10.