''Andrias scheuchzeri'' is an

extinct Extinction is the termination of an organism by the death of its Endling, last member. A taxon may become Functional extinction, functionally extinct before the death of its last member if it loses the capacity to Reproduction, reproduce and ...

species of

giant salamander The Cryptobranchidae (commonly known as giant salamanders) are a family of large salamanders that are fully aquatic. The family includes some of the largest living amphibians. They are native to China, Japan, and the eastern United States. Giant ...

belonging to the genus ''

Andrias ''Andrias'' is a genus of giant salamanders. It includes the largest salamanders in the world, with ''A. japonicus'' reaching a length of , and ''A. sligoi'' reaching . While extant species are known only from East Asia, several extinct species ...

'', which also contains the closely related living Asian giant salamanders. It is known from

Oligocene The Oligocene ( ) is a geologic epoch (geology), epoch of the Paleogene Geologic time scale, Period that extends from about 33.9 million to 23 million years before the present ( to ). As with other older geologic periods, the rock beds that defin ...

Pliocene The Pliocene ( ; also Pleiocene) is the epoch (geology), epoch in the geologic time scale that extends from 5.33 to 2.58Central Europe Central Europe is a geographical region of Europe between Eastern Europe, Eastern, Southern Europe, Southern, Western Europe, Western and Northern Europe, Northern Europe. Central Europe is known for its cultural diversity; however, countries in ...

, but possibly as far east as

Western Siberia Western Siberia or West Siberia ( rus, Западная Сибирь, p=ˈzapədnəjə sʲɪˈbʲirʲ; , ) is a region in North Asia. It is part of the wider region of Siberia that is mostly located in the Russia, Russian Federation, with a Sout ...

and eastern

Kazakhstan Kazakhstan, officially the Republic of Kazakhstan, is a landlocked country primarily in Central Asia, with a European Kazakhstan, small portion in Eastern Europe. It borders Russia to the Kazakhstan–Russia border, north and west, China to th ...

History

In his book ''Lithographia Helvetica'' from 1726,

Johann Jakob Scheuchzer Johann Jakob Scheuchzer (2 August 1672 – 23 June 1733) was a Swiss physician and natural scientist born in Zürich. His most famous work was the ''Physica sacra'' in four volumes, which was a commentary on the Bible and included his view of ...

described a

Miocene The Miocene ( ) is the first epoch (geology), geological epoch of the Neogene Period and extends from about (Ma). The Miocene was named by Scottish geologist Charles Lyell; the name comes from the Greek words (', "less") and (', "new") and mea ...

fossil A fossil (from Classical Latin , ) is any preserved remains, impression, or trace of any once-living thing from a past geological age. Examples include bones, shells, exoskeletons, stone imprints of animals or microbes, objects preserve ...

found in

Öhningen Öhningen is a municipality on the western edge of Lake Constance where it forms the border between Switzerland and the district of Konstanz (or Constance) in Baden-Württemberg in Germany. World Heritage Site It is home to one or more prehisto ...

as ''Homo diluvii testis'' (

Latin Latin ( or ) is a classical language belonging to the Italic languages, Italic branch of the Indo-European languages. Latin was originally spoken by the Latins (Italic tribe), Latins in Latium (now known as Lazio), the lower Tiber area aroun ...

: ''Man, witness of the

Deluge A deluge is a large downpour of rain, often a flood. The Deluge refers to the flood narrative in the biblical book of Genesis. Deluge or Le Déluge may also refer to: History *Deluge (history), the Swedish and Russian invasion of the Polish-L ...

''), believing it to be the remains of a human that drowned in the

biblical The Bible is a collection of religious texts that are central to Christianity and Judaism, and esteemed in other Abrahamic religions such as Islam. The Bible is an anthology (a compilation of texts of a variety of forms) biblical languages ...

Deluge. The fossil was about 1 m (3 ft) long, lacked its tail and hind legs, and could thus be interpreted as showing some resemblance to the remains of a violently trampled human child. In 1758, the first to doubt his theory in print was

Johannes Gessner Johannes Gessner (18 March 1709 – 6 May 1790) was a Switzerland, Swiss mathematician, physicist, botanist, mineralogist and physician. He is seen as the founder of the "Naturforschende Gesellschaft in Zürich". Gessner was born and died in ...

, who thought it was a giant

catfish Catfish (or catfishes; order (biology), order Siluriformes or Nematognathi) are a diverse group of ray-finned fish. Catfish are common name, named for their prominent barbel (anatomy), barbels, which resemble a cat's whiskers, though not ...

(Siluris). In 1787 Petrus Camper thought it was a lizard (Lacerta); at that time, scholars and the scientific community generally did not differentiate between reptiles and amphibians. In 1802 Martin van Marum bought this fossil for

Teyler's Museum Teylers Museum () is an art, natural history, and science museum in Haarlem, Netherlands. Established in 1778, Teylers Museum was founded as a centre for contemporary art and science. The historic centre of the museum is the neoclassical Oval Ro ...

Haarlem Haarlem (; predecessor of ''Harlem'' in English language, English) is a List of cities in the Netherlands by province, city and Municipalities of the Netherlands, municipality in the Netherlands. It is the capital of the Provinces of the Nether ...

from Scheuchzer's grandson in

Zürich Zurich (; ) is the list of cities in Switzerland, largest city in Switzerland and the capital of the canton of Zurich. It is in north-central Switzerland, at the northwestern tip of Lake Zurich. , the municipality had 448,664 inhabitants. The ...

, along with a fossilized swordfish, for 14

Louis d'or The Louis d'or () is any number of French coins first introduced by Louis XIII in 1640. The name derives from the depiction of the portrait of King Louis on one side of the coin; the French royal coat of arms is on the reverse. The coin was r ...

. It can still be seen in Teyler's Museum, in the original showcase. Seven years later, the fossil again came under scrutiny when the famous

Georges Cuvier Jean Léopold Nicolas Frédéric, baron Cuvier (23 August 1769 – 13 May 1832), known as Georges Cuvier (; ), was a French natural history, naturalist and zoology, zoologist, sometimes referred to as the "founding father of paleontology". Cuv ...

published an article in which he claimed the fossil was "nothing but a salamander, or rather a

proteus In Greek mythology, Proteus ( ; ) is an early prophetic sea god or god of rivers and oceanic bodies of water, one of several deities whom Homer calls the "Old Man of the Sea" (''hálios gérôn''). Some who ascribe a specific domain to Prote ...

of gigantic dimensions and of an unknown species". He proceeded to examine the fossil in Haarlem, by then a part of the French Empire, in 1811. After hacking away gently at the fossil, he uncovered the foremost limbs and the specimen was recognized as a giant salamander. The difference in color of the stone shows what Scheuchzer saw and what Cuvier later could see. The specimen was renamed ''

Salamandra ''Salamandra'' is a genus of six species of salamanders localized in central and southern Europe, Northern Africa, and western Asia. List of species References External links Salamandraat Fauna Europaea * Salamandraat Animal Diversity We ...

scheuchzeri'' by Friedrich Holl in 1831. The

genus Genus (; : genera ) is a taxonomic rank above species and below family (taxonomy), family as used in the biological classification of extant taxon, living and fossil organisms as well as Virus classification#ICTV classification, viruses. In bino ...

''Andrias'' was only coined six years later by

Johann Jakob von Tschudi Johann Jakob von Tschudi (25 July 1818 – 8 October 1889) was a Switzerland, Swiss naturalist, explorer, and diplomat. He is known for his travels in South America, his scientific contributions to zoology and anthropology, and his diplomatic se ...

. In doing so, both the genus, ''Andrias'' (which means ''image of man''), and the

specific name Specific name may refer to: * in Database management systems, a system-assigned name that is unique within a particular database In taxonomy, either of these two meanings, each with its own set of rules: * Specific name (botany), the two-part (bino ...

, ''scheuchzeri'', ended up honouring Scheuchzer and his beliefs. The Teylers Museum has several other specimens in their collection in addition to this one.

Description

A number of traits are characteristic of ''Andrias'' ''scheuchzeri'', including strongly curved dentaries, the pars facialis of the skull having a rough inner surface with ridges and depressions, and a number of characters relating to the arrangement and shape of the teeth.

Distribution

In Central Europe, fossil are known from the Late

(

Chattian The Chattian is, in the geologic timescale, the younger of two ages or upper of two stages of the Oligocene Epoch/Series. It spans the time between . The Chattian is preceded by the Rupelian and is followed by the Aquitanian (the lowest stage ...

) to Late

Pliocene The Pliocene ( ; also Pleiocene) is the epoch (geology), epoch in the geologic time scale that extends from 5.33 to 2.58Piacenzian The Piacenzian is in the international geologic time scale the upper stage (stratigraphy), stage or latest age (geology), age of the Pliocene. It spans the time between 3.6 ± 0.005 year#SI prefix multipliers, Ma and 2.58 Ma (million years ago). T ...

) of Germany, the Early

of the Czech Republic, the Late Miocene of Austria, and the Middle or Late Miocene of Hungary. Some reports have claimed that ''Andrias scheuchzeri'' was distributed as far east as

and the Zaissan Basin on the border between China and Kazakhstan. Among the youngest and easternmost remains of ''Andrias'' in Europe, which are indeterminate to species, are known from the Northern Caucasus of Russia, dating to the latest Pliocene.

Ecology

''Andrias scheuchzeri'' inhabited ponds, lakes and rivers, unlike modern Asian giant salamanders, which prefer clear, nutrient poor (

oligotrophic An oligotroph is an organism that can live in an environment that offers very low levels of nutrients. They may be contrasted with copiotrophs, which prefer nutritionally rich environments. Oligotrophs are characterized by slow growth, low rates o ...

) rivers and streams.

In fiction

The fictional descendants of ''Andrias scheuchzeri'' are the primary antagonists in Karel Čapek's 1936

science fiction Science fiction (often shortened to sci-fi or abbreviated SF) is a genre of speculative fiction that deals with imaginative and futuristic concepts. These concepts may include information technology and robotics, biological manipulations, space ...

novel ''

War with the Newts ''War with the Newts'' (''Válka s Mloky'' in the original Czech), also translated as ''Salamander Wars'', is a 1936 satirical science fiction novel by Czech author Karel Čapek. It concerns the discovery in the Indian Ocean of a sea-dwelling rac ...

''.

Sources

Bibliography

* Richard Ellis (2001), ''Aquagenesis: The Origin and Evolution of Life in the Sea'' (London: Penguin). * Robert Hofrichter (2000), ''Amphibians: The World of Frogs, Toads, Salamanders and Newts'' (Toronto: Key Porter Books) * J. Alan Holman (2006), ''Fossil Salamanders of North America (Life of the Past)'' (Bloomington: Indiana University Press) * J. William Schopf (2001), ''Cradle of Life: The Discovery of Earth's Earliest Fossils'' (Princeton: Princeton University Press) {{DEFAULTSORT:Andrias Scheuchzeri Cryptobranchidae Paleogene animals of Europe Miocene amphibians Cenozoic salamanders Fossil taxa described in 1831 Oligocene species first appearances Pliocene species extinctions