Andrias scheuchzeri
| Andrias scheuchzeri | |
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| Fossil of Andrias scheuchzeri | |
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| Species: | †A. scheuchzeri
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| Binomial name | |
| Andrias scheuchzeri (Holl, 1831)
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Homo diluvii testis | |
Andrias scheuchzeri is an extinct species of giant salamander, which only is known from fossils. It and the extant A. davidianus cannot be mutually diagnosed, and the latter, only described in 1871, is therefore sometimes considered a synonym of the former.[1]
In his book Lithographia Helvetica from 1726, Scheuchzer described a fossil as Homo diluvii testis (Latin: Evidence of a diluvian human), believing it to be the remains of a human that drowned in the biblical 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. The Teylers Museum in Haarlem, the Netherlands, bought the fossil in 1802, where it still is being exhibited. In 1812, the fossil was examined by Cuvier, who recognized it as not being human. After being recognized as a salamander, it was renamed Salamandra scheuchzeri by Holl in 1831. The genus Andrias was only coined six years later by Tschudi. In doing so, both the genus, Andrias (which means image of man), and the specific name, scheuchzeri, ended up honouring Scheuchzer and his beliefs.
In popular culture
The fictional descendents of Andrias scheuchzeri are the primary antagonists in Karel Čapek's 1936 science fiction novel War With the Newts.
Sources
- ^ Amphibian Species of the World 5.1. Genus Andrias. Accessed 2008-04-10.
- Aquagenesis: The Origin and Evolution of Life in the Sea by Richard Ellis
- Fossil Salamanders of North America (Life of the Past) by J. Alan Holman
- Cradle of Life: The Discovery of Earth's Earliest Fossils by J. William Schopf
- The Swedish popular scientific magazine Illustrerad vetenskap 2/2008
- Amphibians: The World of Frogs, Toads, Salamanders and Newts by Robert Hofrichter
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