Yahoo News (USA) May 21st, 2018 10:00 AM: Giant Chinese Salamander: World's Largest Amphibian Is Heading for Extinction


The Chinese giant salamander (Andrias davidianus) is the world’s largest amphibian, weighing in at more than 140 pounds and measuring up to 5.9 feet in length. Despite playing an important role in Chinese culture for centuries—it is thought that the animals even inspired the famous Taoist yin and yang symbol—the salamander has now been all*but driven to extinction in the wild, according to a landmark new study published in the journal Current Biology. The animals are under threat from habitat loss and human over-consumption: They are*used in traditional Chinese medicine and have also become a highly coveted luxury food item in recent years.


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