Andrias matthewi, or Matthew's giant salamander,[4] is an extinct species of giant salamander from the Miocene of North America. It belongs to the genus Andrias, which contains the living Asian giant salamanders. It is the largest salamander to have ever existed, with a maximum estimated length of 2.3 m (7 ft 7 in).[5] Its fossils have been found in Nebraska, Colorado, and Saskatchewan.[1]
| Andrias matthewi Temporal range: [1]
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|---|---|
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| Size comparison between a human and A. matthewi | |
Scientific classification 
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| Domain: | Eukaryota |
| Kingdom: | Animalia |
| Phylum: | Chordata |
| Class: | Amphibia |
| Order: | Urodela |
| Family: | Cryptobranchidae |
| Genus: | Andrias |
| Species: | †A. matthewi
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| Binomial name | |
| †Andrias matthewi (Cook, 1917)[2]
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| Synonyms | |
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Taxonomy edit
In 1917, Harold Cook named the new genus and species Plicagnathus matthewi for a dentary from the "lower Snake Creek beds"[a] of Nebraska.[2] The species was named in honor of William Diller Matthew, who first identified the specimen.[2] In 1963, Joseph Tihen and Charles Chantell named the new species Cryptobranchus mccalli for two maxillae from the Valentine Formation of Nebraska.[3] Charles Meszoely synonymized C. mccalli with P. matthewi and Plicagnathus with Andrias in 1966, leading to the current name Andrias matthewi.[7] Bruce Naylor synonymized Andrias with Cryptobranchus in 1981, resulting in the combination Cryptobranchus matthewi,[5] but this was not accepted by subsequent authors.[1]
Size edit
Cook estimated a length of 1.52 m (5 ft 0 in) based on the holotype dentary.[2] Meszoely estimated lengths of 1.5 m (4 ft 11 in) and 1.8 m (5 ft 11 in) from a referred maxilla and dentary, respectively, from the Marsland Formation of Nebraska.[7] Naylor estimated a length of 2.3 m (7 ft 7 in) using two vertebrae from the Wood Mountain Formation of Saskatchewan.[5] In comparison, the largest living salamander, the South China giant salamander (Andrias sligoi), reaches lengths of 1.75 m (5 ft 9 in).[8]
Notes edit
- ^ This unit was later renamed to the Olcott Formation.[6]
References edit
- ^ a b c Holman, J.A. (2006). Fossil Salamanders of North America. Bloomington, IN: Indiana University Press. pp. 71–73. ISBN 0-253-34732-7.
- ^ a b c d Cook, H.J. (1917). "First recorded amphibian from the Tertiary of Nebraska". Bulletin of the Geological Society of America. 28: 213.
- ^ a b Tihen, J.A.; Chantell, C.J. (1963). "Urodele remains from the Valentine Formation of Nebraska". Copeia. 1963 (3): 505-510. doi:10.2307/1441470. JSTOR 1441470.
- ^ Holman, J.A. (1976). "The herpetofauna of the lower Valentine Formation, north-central Nebraska". Herpetologica. 32 (3): 262–268. JSTOR 3891452.
- ^ a b c Naylor, B.G. (1981). "Cryptobranchid salamanders from the Paleocene and Miocene of Saskatchewan". Copeia. 1981 (1): 76–86. doi:10.2307/1444042. JSTOR 1444042.
- ^ Skinner, M.F.; Skinner, S.M.; Gooris, R.J. (1977). "Stratigraphy and biostratigraphy of late Cenozoic deposits in central Sioux County, western Nebraska". Bulletin of the American Museum of Natural History. 158 (5): 263-370. hdl:2246/1233.
- ^ a b Meszoely, C. (1966). "North American fossil cryptobranchid salamanders". The American Midland Naturalist. 75 (2): 495–515. doi:10.2307/2423407. JSTOR 2423407.
- ^ Turvey, S.T.; Marr, M.M.; Barnes, I.; Brace, S.; Tapley, B.; Murphy, R.W.; Zhao, E.; Cunningham, A.A. (2019). "Historical museum collections clarify the evolutionary history of cryptic species radiation in the world's largest amphibians". Ecology and Evolution. 9 (18): 10070–10084. doi:10.1002/ece3.5257. PMC 6787787.