Hybrid Giant Salamanders Pose Conundrum For Conservationists

Video footage shows hybrids between Japanese and Chinese giant salamanders being kept in the pool of a shuttered elementary school in Nabari, Mie Prefecture. The Japanese giant salamander (Andrias japonicus), endemic mostly to western Japan, is a designated national monument. Its existence is threatened as the species has interbred with the Chinese giant salamander (Andrias davidianus) introduced into Japan several decades ago as a delicacy but released in the wild. The hybrid amphibians pose a problem for conservationists. While it is not illegal to exterminate “Sinicized” salamanders that are found, they can be deemed a rare species in their own right because Chinese giant salamanders are a threatened species in their country of origin.