Kyoto University Identifies 3.5-Million-Year-Old Giant Salamander From 3 Japanese Fossil Bones
Updated
Updated · SciTechDaily · Jul 19
Kyoto University Identifies 3.5-Million-Year-Old Giant Salamander From 3 Japanese Fossil Bones
3 articles · Updated · SciTechDaily · Jul 19
Summary
Three vertebrae found in Oita Prefecture between 1995 and 1997 have been reclassified as Limnospondylus ajimuensis, a newly named giant salamander that lived about 3.5 million years ago.
Kyoto University researchers reached that conclusion after comparing the fossils with a broader set of living and extinct giant salamanders and finding a mid-trunk vertebra with anatomical traits unseen in known Cryptobranchidae.
The animal may have grown to about 1.1 meters long, and the fossils were distinct enough in size and location to suggest they came from multiple individuals rather than one skeleton.
The find helps bridge a more than 20-million-year gap in Asia's giant salamander fossil record and raises the number of described extinct and living genera in the family from five to six.
Ajimu's ancient lake sediments point to a warmer, wetter Kyushu with lakes and marshes, while the study also suggests museum fossils long assigned to Andrias may hide additional lost species.