Extinction, A Pyramid Scheme, & The World's Largest Salamander

Рет қаралды 235,862

2 жыл бұрын

Releasing Chinese giant salamanders back into the wild sounds like a good idea, but it's causing problems for the salamanders and for our understanding of what a species even is.
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Sources:
www.cell.com/current-biology/...
ag.purdue.edu/extension/hellb...
www.nature.com/articles/natur...
www.biologicaldiversity.org/s...
www.iucnredlist.org/search?ta...
www.iucnredlist.org/species/5...
www.nature.com/scitable/defin...
www.theatlantic.com/science/a...
theconversation.com/whats-in-...
commons.wikimedia.org/wiki/Fi...
commons.wikimedia.org/wiki/Fi...
commons.wikimedia.org/wiki/Fi...
bio.libretexts.org/Bookshelve...
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Images:
www.istockphoto.com/photo/the...
• Giant Chinese salamand...
• Chinese Giant Salamand...
• Meet our Chinese giant...
www.eurekalert.org/multimedia...
www.storyblocks.com/video/sto...
www.storyblocks.com/video/sto...
www.eurekalert.org/multimedia...
• #RoyalCam 2017 highlig...
• Midway-Albatrosses
• Zoo Keulen, Chinese re...
• Hellbender release!
• Saitama(Public) Aquari...
• Video
www.eurekalert.org/multimedia...
• Japanese giant salaman...
www.istockphoto.com/photo/eas...
• Video
• Video
www.istockphoto.com/photo/the...
• Mountain Moment: A Qui...
• Mexican Spotted Owl
• Wood Frog
www.istockphoto.com/photo/nor...
• オオサンショウウオ　Japanese gia...

Пікірлер: 316

@laurachapple6795 2 жыл бұрын

Never mind a pin, we need a Chinese Giant Salamander body pillow.

@Tsuchimursu Жыл бұрын

Shouldn't it be a Japanese salamander? Since body pillows are more a Japanese thing

@bmac7643 Жыл бұрын

@@Tsuchimursu you’re not wrong

@baliorne Жыл бұрын

This

@JackieOwl94 Жыл бұрын

Make a Hellbender one and have it made in the US with a “born in the USA” sticker on it to encourage conservation through pure patriotism.

@CJ_McK Жыл бұрын

@markwiles9100 2 жыл бұрын

For 5 years in the early 1990s, I lived in the NW part of Kyoto, a short bicycle ride from the Kiyotake River. This tributary of the Hozu River is a clear, fast flowing mountain stream with numerous cascades and deep pools. It is also ideal habitat for the Japanese giant salamander, a species closely related to the Chinese giant salamander featured in your video. The river supports a healthy breeding population of giant salamanders, and large individuals could routinely be spotted while diving with a mask and snorkel in the deep pools. The largest known salamander in the section of river where I used to hang out was 154cm, around 5 ft. Thanks for reminding me of an earlier, fun time of my life.

@helixxia9320 6 ай бұрын

So cute

@21Kyzix12 2 жыл бұрын

Giant Salamanders are so cool. I was actually lucky enough to see a wild Japanese Giant Salamander a few years ago. My friends and I were having a barbeque up in the mountains in Gifu, and one just slowly crawled past a rock I was standing on while fishing in a stream. It was a really cool experience to see an animal I'd only ever seen pictures of in the wild.

@atsukorichards1675 2 жыл бұрын

Wow, you are so lucky! I have seen only one at the aquarium in Otsu long time ago.

@21Kyzix12 2 жыл бұрын

@@atsukorichards1675 It was a really cool experience. It was in Shirakawacho (白川町) by the way.

@clastelr 2 жыл бұрын

I wish there were giant salamanders in Germany

@OfftoShambala Ай бұрын

Yeah… not sure how rare it is, but snorkeling in Bali I saw those blue starfish and a lion fish in one trip… I’d done a lot of snorkeling in Guam and saw some decent tropical fish, but Bali was amazing back in 1993. Assuming it still is. But, the way things seem to go…

@sketcher445 2 жыл бұрын

I’m absolutely reeling at the knowledge that Hank is ~6’6”

@DontRobMe13 2 жыл бұрын

there must be a vlogbrothers video in which he stands next to a door

@taka-mi02z 2 жыл бұрын

He isn't, if you look it up he is actually 6'1. He's American so I think he just calculated it wrong since they don't use the metric system there.

@robertgotschall1246 2 жыл бұрын

So he's not quite as long as a salamander. Can we not discuss whether he's as cute as one?

@robbiirvine1038 2 жыл бұрын

@@taka-mi02z yeah I'm gonna say that Hank Green, one of the smartest people on the Internet, knows how to convert metric to imperial. It's really not that hard, stop making it seem like some mythological feat. Edit: he was probably just rounding, because 5" really doesn't make much of a difference. The salamanders can also "get up to" that size, so an average one would be around his height in length; regardless that he's not as tall as the larger samples.

@DemonKyle 2 жыл бұрын

@@taka-mi02z Americans use the metric system all the time. We learn it in school and use it for some jobs.

@Magmafrost13 2 жыл бұрын

While it may still be worth trying to save the individual Chinese Giant Salamander populations, if that turns out to be impossible, then the hybrids likely will at least fill the same ecological role as their ancestors without too much trouble. Obviously its never good to lose so much genetic variation, but in this specific case, we'd still have the opportunity to fill that ecological role with a functionally equivalent animal, which can at least prevent a trophic cascade

@davidegaruti2582 2 жыл бұрын

Yeah , also they might re adapt to get the same caracteristics of the previus morphs : it would be like reintroducing husky/german shepard/golden retriver/bloodhound half breeds in siberia in the place of siberian husky , Eventually over the generations the genes of the husky would come to prevail , I know this isn't a perfect example and dog breeds are different than these guys , it's an example for natural selection operating at the genes leves

@oliverwilson11 2 жыл бұрын

Genetic variation isn't lost by releasing farmed animals. In fact more of it can be retained because instead of small isolated populations dying out they can find mates and their genes can survive. What would be lost is the segregation between genetically distinct populations.

@HowlingWolf518 2 жыл бұрын

@@oliverwilson11 I'd argue that so long as the captive-breds don't outnumber the wild population, the unique environment that caused the genetic drift in the first place should skew the population that way regardless.

@absalomdraconis 2 жыл бұрын

@@HowlingWolf518 : Even if the farm breeds do outnumber the locals, as long as genelines representative of the locals survive you'll still see a reemergence of a revised version of the locals, with of course a bit of non-maladaptive admixture as well. A "local 1.5" breed if you will, just with a trailing-off increase in genetic diversity.

@kyrab7914 2 жыл бұрын

My thoughts as well. Bringing back a species from extinction means either literally genetically piecing it back together and inserting that egg into a host animal, or an animal bred to be like the former animal, iirc from... One of the scishow channels. I know losing species isn't great, and genetic variation good. But we didn't know, and at least the hybrids are made from native animals instead of invasive ones?

@Iamthelolrus 2 жыл бұрын

I want a 2 meter salamander pin... Not sure how I'd display it without falling over.

@zenebean 2 жыл бұрын

Snowboard, maybe?

@vampyricon7026 2 жыл бұрын

You're the pin then

@deathsnitemaresinfullust2269 2 жыл бұрын

Haa! Just pin it to the back of a leather jacket and hope you don't have any small doors to walk through. 😄👍

@NinaDmytraczenko 2 жыл бұрын

Maybe put on a Santa hat in the salamander, and use them as xmas decoration?

@miekekuppen9275 2 жыл бұрын

A bit worried about the state of Hank´s brain when he thinks 6 ft is the same as 2 meters though.

@emrazum 2 жыл бұрын

Every time I see these guys it reminds me of that Walking with Dinosaurs scene with the even more giant salamander

@zenebean 2 жыл бұрын

Koolasuchus is great, such giant Derpy heads full of deadly teeth

@natureenthusiastpyro 2 жыл бұрын

@@zenebean eogyrinus is even bigger

@davidegaruti2582 2 жыл бұрын

@@zenebean oh , i tought about the scene in seas of death ... But yeah koolasucus was defo unexpected

@SHrepairs 2 жыл бұрын

The famous saying; "There's always a bigger Salamander"

@xevious1538 Жыл бұрын

Koolasuchus isn't a salamander, it is a stereospondyl

@Beryllahawk 2 жыл бұрын

I could hear the mild headache at the "life finds a way" bit, haha Fascinating that the species are so genetically similar - and it makes a kind of sense that there are species (or sub species) adapted to specific river systems. Each river probably has a really distinct character - not just its ecosystem but the geological characteristics too, right? Hopefully, we humans will untangle the mess in some way that allows us to preserve diversity and also not cause anybody to go hungry...

@sampagano205 2 жыл бұрын

One point that I think also comes into this is also how important saving individual species is vs making sure the group survives at all. Is it the actual lineages that you prioritize or the fact that there are animals doing what the giant salamander does in it's environment, and the specific lineage matters less.

@eljanrimsa5843 2 жыл бұрын

Do you think we should stop conservation efforts for all these different native duck species because the mallard can do the same everywhere?

@oliverwilson11 2 жыл бұрын

@@eljanrimsa5843 That's taking it to an absurd extreme. Many ducks have very different ecological roles from mallatds. A project where these questions are relevant is the South China tiger. Is it important that tigers reintroduced in China come exclusively from the remaining, entirely captive population of genetically Chinese tigers, or is that just misguided human nationalism?

@eljanrimsa5843 2 жыл бұрын

@@oliverwilson11 Eh, but that's different. The South China tiger is not 8 million years distinct as these giant salamanders are, or 1.5 million year distinct as the threatened Hawaiian duck is, but a mere subspecies. Tigers are politically important as flagship species, you can preserve a unique wilderness area for the sake of the South China tiger, and other more unique native species benefit from it. 8 million years is like tigers and bobcats. Who thinks it's a good idea to introduce bobcats instead of tigers because they are similar enough and easier to maintain?

@sampagano205 2 жыл бұрын

@@eljanrimsa5843 many of those native duck species do in fact fulfill a different role than the mallard, so no I do not think we should stop those efforts.

@Nasrudith 2 жыл бұрын

I am no expert but I would consider them as overall as one species and each "sub-species" contributing to its overall biodiversity. How well adapted they are is also a variable with the biodiversity. Sort of a weird sort of sum of adaptation * genetic distinctiveness. Say that we wouldn't try to breed say albino giant salamanders just to be more distinct. There wouldn't be a niche for them and they would soon die out in nature anyway. But if we discovered albino giant salamanders in underwater cave systems they would be good for biodiversity.

@hugoiwata 2 жыл бұрын

I never knew Hank was so tall. In my head he was like 1,7 m.

@stonegiant4 2 жыл бұрын

Reminds me of the "red wolf" conservation effort that found out that the red wolves are actually fertile hybrids of Grey wolves and coyotes or something.

@hat_maus 2 жыл бұрын

Love clicking on a video from a channel I've never heard of, and then being pleasantly surprised by Hank Green's dulcet tones.

@kargoncoppercoin2093 2 жыл бұрын

I feel like interbreeding between these guys is a good thing overall. More genetic diversity is actually helpful for species to thrive. Maybe we won't have 5 to 8 slightly different species of giant salamanders anymore, but we'll have 1 extremely successful species that combines the best traits of all of them. It's not quite natural evolution, but its basically evolution anyway

@alonealien1474 2 жыл бұрын

I don't understand this at an expert level so can't say whether I'm right or wrong, but on a basic level I agree with your reasoning. Like if breeding and creating fertile offspring isn't an issue, then is purity of species a thing we should be concerned about?

@natureenthusiastpyro 2 жыл бұрын

Hopefully

@natureenthusiastpyro 2 жыл бұрын

But also the opposite could happen

@wezul 2 жыл бұрын

The problem with that is, the one homogenous species would be really well adapted to _current conditions_. If (and when) conditions change, they may not be well adapted to the new way of things, and may have lost the genetic diversity that would allow them to adapt. Thus, they would ultimately die out. This is why genetic diversity is so important: for the ability to adapt to new changes, which will surely come, given enough time.

@raccoontrashpanda1467 2 жыл бұрын

Problem is if there is only 1 species instead of 8+ then one disease that is particularly deadly to that one species could wipe them all out. 8+ species would have a much better chance of some resisting it. This happened to bananas and is why you can't buy the Gros Michel banana any more, but there are other types of banana you can buy.

@mschrisfrank2420 2 жыл бұрын

There are Giant Salamanders at the Detroit Zoo and it always blows my mind how big they are. I’d be so freaked if I was swimming somewhere and one came up next to me.

@goldeaglekroll1596 2 жыл бұрын

You're forgetting another monkey wrench. The designation of sub species. A lot of subspecies, could fall in the category of independent species but they're not genetically diverse enough to be separated. Of course hybridisation is another beast unto itself. Just by looking at some domestic house cat hybrids. Thanks for the video keep them coming and the weird are the better.

@Ezullof 2 жыл бұрын

Honestly, most debates about species/subspecies definitions miss the point. Which is - what do we use those concepts for? And the thing is - it depends. Sometimes we need to use a definition, other times we need another. When your goal is preservation, it's important to know whether two individuals will be able to breed to produce fertile offsprings. But when you're researching about evolutionary biology, you need to use a definition that integrates intraspecies diversity in a different way. Paleonthology? Interbreeding cannot even be a factor, it's all anatomy and genetics. etc. And technically that's what researchers do. When they are using the concept of species, they are often defining it at the beginning on their paper, depending on their needs. So overall the debate about the definition of what a species is, is mostly a philosophy of sciences debate.

@eljanrimsa5843 2 жыл бұрын

@@Ezullof You missed the point. This "mostly philosophy" debate is central to how we spend real money for conservation efforts.

@oliverwilson11 2 жыл бұрын

What makes you think they forgot? They left it out because it's not important

@strifera 2 жыл бұрын

I thought fertile offspring at all defined species and fertile offspring in nature defined subspecies. But then there's also species complex (or was it ring species?) weirdness where every member can interbreed with some other member but not all members can interbreed with each other, but I'm willing to chalk that up to incomplete speciation.

@Great_Olaf5 2 жыл бұрын

Ring and chain species are usually very geographical. You get them around large mountains, where various subspecies that are directly adjacent to each other can interbreed, but if you go too far down the chain, they can't. It's not a random mixture of one's which can and can't, they're divided up by geography, and even if they're brought together they can't breed, either at all or with fertile offspring.

@MLeoDaalder 2 жыл бұрын

A series of species of gulls in europe/scadinavia/iceland/greenland/US if I remember by scishow correctly. Where one end of the ring/chain _can't_ interbreed with the other end, yet they are geographically connected (share nesting sites) but every other link/pair of species in the ring/chain _can_ interbreed.

@nidohime6233 2 жыл бұрын

Take for example coyotes, wolves (including dogs), and jackals. There are classified as different species, yet there are still able to interbreed with each other and have fertile offspring. So should we still consider them different species or not?

@raccoontrashpanda1467 2 жыл бұрын

Wolves, dogs coyotes and dingoes can all interbreed and produce fertile offspring, Asian leopard cats can produce fertile offspring with house cats. I'm not entirely sure what defines a species but theres more to it than fertile offspring.

@MLeoDaalder 2 жыл бұрын

@@raccoontrashpanda1467 Human opinion about species is a defining trait for some species I think... ^_^

@pelewads 2 жыл бұрын

I thought that the biological species definition, was losing favor. Due to the fact that many, obviously, different species can interbreed. Look at the grizzly bear in the polar bear. There are also a number of bird species that can interbreed. I think some definitions, need to be updateded

@mk_rexx 2 жыл бұрын

Exactly what's the video is about-the vagueness of species

@kitgodsey 2 жыл бұрын

The caveat introduced in the video (hybridization in nature) saves BSC for me a bit, since it pulls out that human element of "we put a lion and tiger together and got a liger!" So, going off grizzly/polar bear hybrids, the main drive of that seems to be polar bears searching in vain for more space, while grizzlies can move further north due to warming weather, giving rise to hybrids when they meet. But because climate change and habitat loss is caused by humans, it's safe to say these species likely wouldn't have met and been able to interbreed in the first place. Personally I'm still not the biggest fan of BSC, but it's relatively easy to teach at a large scale and at least works in separating stuff to family/genera (mostly)

@JoelMatton 2 жыл бұрын

The fertile offpsring definition makes me think of Australian dingos. People disagree about whether they're a separate species or just a breed of dog. Dingos separated from dogs 10s of thousands of years ago, but can still interbreed with regular dogs. Which is also why "purebred" dingos are becoming more and more rare as they're often interbreeding with dogs (often, but not always, feral ones). It's very common for dogs in Australia, especially in more rural areas, to have some dingo in them.

@juanayala863 2 жыл бұрын

Dingos didn’t split off from other dogs until about 8 thousand years ago.

@bkjeong4302 2 жыл бұрын

Dingoes only became a thing around 4,000 years ago. And everyone, even those who argue they should be seen as their own species, agrees that they’re descended from dogs/semi-domesticated wolves brought over by humans.

@eljanrimsa5843 2 жыл бұрын

You are mixng up something. Dogs and dingos all belong to the same species "Canis lupus".

@jase123111 2 жыл бұрын

And domesticated dogs can breed with wolves too, and they are clearly different species. In America even wild coyote have been naturally breeding with wolves to make a fertile 'new species'. Things not as simple in life!

@aneethasalim5814 2 жыл бұрын

Could Bizarre Beasts do a video covering the Gollum Snakehead and it's relatives, they were recently discovered and are a relict species?

@natureenthusiastpyro 2 жыл бұрын

Please, such a cool animal

@vincentx2850 2 жыл бұрын

Cave dwelling fishes are amazing. Another interesting animal to cover is the cave mahseer, also from India. At more than 30cm long, it absolutely dwarves other cave dwelling fishes

@natureenthusiastpyro 2 жыл бұрын

@@vincentx2850 yes

@NinaDmytraczenko 2 жыл бұрын

OMG I love that some scientist somewhere got to name a cave dwellers Gollum!!! Thanks for making my day better 🤩

@aneethasalim5814 2 жыл бұрын

@@vincentx2850 Isn't the cave mahseer the largest of all cave dwelling fish?

@oucyan 2 жыл бұрын

Isn't this why the Subspecies category exists? Or maybe we can classify the different Chinese Salamanders as breeds? I think if he do that, the farmers might be more inclined to separate them properly and pick and choose which interbreed to make new breeds (like Koi). I dunno, just some thoughts

@james4thedoctor482 2 жыл бұрын

It took me over 10 years to find the Hellbender in it’s aquarium at my local zoo: such good camouflage!

@dragonharris5465 2 жыл бұрын

I love them so much! Have y’all ever considered the Gila monster? It is the only venomous lizard in the USA, and in my opinion the best lizard ever

@RedChaosScrungle 2 жыл бұрын

Correct me if I'm wrong, but to me, this just sounds like the chinese salamander has a bunch of subspecies whose differences are merely location, kind of like tigers, and how those can freely interbreed with each other regardless of subspecies.

@kitgodsey 2 жыл бұрын

Last summer I worked with two bird species that are *definitely* different species (Neslon's Sparrow & Saltmarsh Sparrow) since their breeding behavior and regionalism separate them, but they also hybridize so much that within their small band of hybrid zone we aren't sure how much NELS are in the SALS and vice-versa It's even crazier because Nelson's Sparrows are inland (Great Plains) marsh birds and not as well adapted to saltmarsh conditions, but somehow they found their way to the North Atlantic and set up a big enough breeding population to then hybridize!

@kitgodsey 2 жыл бұрын

When it comes to conservation this is a big issue, since NELS are listed as Least Concern, but SALS are Endangered. But like Hank said, where does a species stop or begin? In this case it's pretty clear they're distinct species who happen to have a foggy hybrid zone, but the question still stands. (And let's not get started on the Golden-winged vs Blue-winged warbler debates)

@j.e.h.648 2 жыл бұрын

There are also crossbreeds of species in the wild. Especially in river fishes it’s common that in the crosssections of different habitat the different species interbreed sometimes and develop new features sometimes not know in either species. A lot of those fish are fertile but usually their features breed out after a couple of generations with one of its parental species.

@typhillips3923 2 жыл бұрын

The Mitochondria ARE the powerhouse of the cell (Mitochondria is plural, mitochondrion is the singular). I absolutely love all Hank's content, but this is something I have to point out.

@meat_rainbow 2 жыл бұрын

Is this a situation similar to dogs where there are key distinctions between breeds but they're genetically similar enough to be lumped together?

@eljanrimsa5843 2 жыл бұрын

They are as genetically distinct as dogs are from foxes. Or humans from apes.

@bumpytoad4464 2 жыл бұрын

I love giant salamanders, as well as all newts and salamanders in general!! Here in PA we're supposed to have hellbenders, but I've never personally seen one, except for on a TV show featuring our local fauna. I've heard that the Chinese actually eat their own giant salamanders as a delicacy for the wealthy. That completely saddens and sickens me....

@bumpytoad4464 2 жыл бұрын

@@JBarbarosa31 Yep. 😞

@lott94leann 2 жыл бұрын

Their little feet are so cute!

@gregoryrolin9738 11 ай бұрын

I never expected to hear about a salamander farming pyramid scheme. I'm still trying to wrap my head around that one.

@crittercosner2877 2 жыл бұрын

How long have you been hiding this awesome channel, Hank!

@DeadGirlsPoem 2 жыл бұрын

species chaos @.@ as a biologist i agree, this specis definition problem is really difficult. and really annoying sometimes, especially if you want to protect certain animals.

@Grayson_Paris 2 жыл бұрын

You got my sub for this vid :)

@ThatJaymsWisdom 2 жыл бұрын

Still the best series on KZfaq ♥️

@WillMoff0 2 жыл бұрын

here is the important questions. are the salamanders that we are releasing into the wild filling the same niche as the ones they are supplanting? Are they in the same place in the food chain? If yes, then it doesn't really matter, if no, then there is a problem.

@logand1726 2 жыл бұрын

Hank seems so happy to talk about salamanders today (:

@repeatdefender6032 11 ай бұрын

This is my favorite show from y'all, love these beasties.

@stephaniesews6603 2 жыл бұрын

Great, now I wonder what exact species the giant salamander in the local nature history museum is. Thanks. (Yes, its alive, the local museum houses live animals for some reason. It's more like a scientific zoo.)

@kanepowell3312 2 жыл бұрын

Found this while writing an essay on hybridisation. great content 👍

@funnygrunt_o7 2 жыл бұрын

Hank green makes my day veeeery nice :)

@wlb2j Жыл бұрын

I’m digging the NASA members only jacket Hank!

@Doctor-vn8es 26 күн бұрын

Why on earth can't we get Bizarre Beast pin subscriptions outside of the US?

@GuanoLad 2 жыл бұрын

Hellbender is a great name. Especially for a movie starring Nicolas Cage.

@mattheweburns Жыл бұрын

1:21 these giant salamanders live in the tuckaseegee river in western North Carolina. This river might be known from the movie, deliverance as parts on the river on that movie were filmed here. People here called them, mud puppies, but they are nothing like the mud puppies. I knew in South Carolina. They hang out under the mud and come out with great force to eat birds, even turtles, mice, fish, anything under the sides of it’s jaws, like fish many times, they will attack things much larger than them. There is a story about someone’s horse being eaten by one, Appalachian folklore.

@wezul 2 жыл бұрын

Life... finds a way. I LOLed. Thank you Hank.

@forthrightgambitia1032 2 жыл бұрын

There is a problem similar to this with Scottish wildcats as well. Pet cats keep on breeding with them contributing to the slow extinction of them as a distinct species.

@harubynspades 11 ай бұрын

Subspecies*, Scottish Wild Cats are a different subspecies.

@everybodyyogastudio212 2 жыл бұрын

I adore your jacket 💜 where can I buy one of those?!??

@loam6740 2 жыл бұрын

Makes me think or the chicken and the egg, like when was the first genetically distinct human born? Our ideas of species are part of our need to make everything black and white but it doesn't always work like that

@jamestang1227 2 жыл бұрын

With regards to our own species, paleoanthropologists now argue for a pan-african origin for Homo sapiens. Essentially, we came from a mixing of all the archaic human populations in Africa that could interbreed. What complicates this further is that the first fossil skull recognised as Homo sapiens does not actual resemble a modern human skull, possessing a massive brow ridge, but it was on to line that would become us eventually. This is all to say there's no 1 single point where Homp sapiens emerged out of this interbreeding madness between African populations.

@indridcold8433 10 ай бұрын

There was a prehistoric salamander with more than five toes per appendage. It was quite interesting.

@isacami25 2 жыл бұрын

i got so distracted by the idea of hank being 2 m. tall. the Internet says he's 1.85. that's 15 cm less than the salamander. that's like 4 inches less than the salamander. a 2 m tall dude is basketball player tall. and then! at the end! Hank said they were 6 ft tall. that's 1.85, not 2m.

@jamielandis4606 Жыл бұрын

Love the Jeff Goldbloom reference. 😊

@erink7050 2 жыл бұрын

I just starting reading Hummingbird Salamander by Jeff VanderMeer so this video is perfectly timed for me!

@lessanderfer7195 2 жыл бұрын

The question is which will prove more beneficial - the genes specific to each “pure” species of salamander that gets lost in hybridization, or, the various genes from all the different salamanders that get introduced during hybridization. There is only 1 factor that is true, the Habitat has, and will continue to, change. Habitat Specific Traits will probably be more detrimental than beneficial. In the long run, diverse genes in the hybrid populations, might just be what the salamanders need to ultimately survive.

@matthew1995king 2 жыл бұрын

What an interesting channel.

@kaitlynoddie9649 2 жыл бұрын

every time i hear about the biological species concept, all i think about is pizzly/grolar bears. grizzly bears and polar bears are very different species but they produce fertile hybrid offspring all the time

@Thejackofirishdiamon 2 жыл бұрын

I understand that this is a problem but at the same time I kinda like the idea of these hybrids multiplying. At least the genetics live on somehow rather than dying with no descendants.

@user-ht9gk6pt6b 2 жыл бұрын

Plush toys of giant salamander are sold at the Kyoto Aquarium in Japan.

@GenaTrius 2 жыл бұрын

Take the species question out of the equation and look at what's happening. You've got an animal that's easily grouped by a shared bauplan and ecological niche that's had very little gene flow between its populations for a very long time. And now a pyramid scheme and government action has suddenly allowed those long isolated populations to randomly interbreed, and they've been successful in doing so. Some individuals might die when introduced to an area that doesn't quite meet their needs, but now that they're being farmed there's plenty more and some of them will. It also doesn't seem very likely that they're going to act like invasive species when they're being reintroduced to the original native range of creatures that are phenotypically nigh identical to them. Overall, and once again ignoring the species question, this is probably a pretty good thing for remarkably large salamanders from China.

@johnmillay6790 2 жыл бұрын

Best show

@arthurmartin4616 Жыл бұрын

This episode made me think. What makes pizzly bears so different from other hybrid animals that they can breed?

@AdamosDad 2 жыл бұрын

We had a hellbender in a jar in our high school biology lab, I was very surprised when we caught one in a seine in the Laughery valley water shed, here in Indiana, USA.

@Rodneytheproducer1986 2 жыл бұрын

I literally had someone a few years ago down in Chinatown when I was down in the back alleys try to sell me one of these huge ass things I didn't know what the hell it was it just look like a giant newt then come to find out later on that that was a Chinese giant salamander I didn't realize how endangered they were

@christopherquattromusic 2 жыл бұрын

I live near the Blackwater canyon in WV and we have Hellbenders!

@williandalsoto806 2 жыл бұрын

Wait a minute. Hank is THAT tall? Really?? 2 meters?!

@goreobsessed2308 2 жыл бұрын

We actually had this come up in my biology college course they had changed the definition in the book that year so I ended up learning the wrong one because I was using last years book the professor was cool about it though and didn't count it off

@Charlie._.Niron22 2 жыл бұрын

Couldn't we call the species of Chinese Salamanders that are found in the different rivers a Subspecies and Depending on the Genetic and Morphological differences between the Japanese and Chinese Salamanders we could classify them as Either Subspecies or just a full-blown Species right? Like how we call the Asian Elephant species that are found in Sri Lanka and India are Subspecies but the ones found all the way in Myanmar are considered as the same Indian Elephant subspecies or Am I missing something important?

@beyondfubar 2 жыл бұрын

I volunteer to host some in my pond. As long as it doesn't try and eat my dogs.

@genghiskhan6809 Жыл бұрын

I love how at once anciently majestic and derpy giant salamanders are. Kinda makes me wanna be one if I get reincarnated.

@Parentalslayer 2 жыл бұрын

The World's** Quick Typo just wanted to have it fixed real fast

@the_gaming_hyena 2 жыл бұрын

Plz could you do an episode on the spotted hyena?

@thewalrusclown 2 жыл бұрын

Well, wouldn't the fact that they are " genetically destinct" yet capable of fertile interbreeding suggest that they are sub species.

@charlieewing1810 Жыл бұрын

Is the major difference going to be something like pigmentation or lactose tolerance we see in humans, making it one species with generationally selected genes for their ecosystem, but still genetically compatible with their cousins a few rivers over?

@mushroomfieldcroft7566 2 жыл бұрын

gotta catch 'em all

@marcwhittle9810 Жыл бұрын

No such thing as an endangered hybrid and therefore no CITES listing is possible for hybrid Chinese Giant Salamanders opening up the possibility of an unregulated international trade as has occurred with some salamanders such as the hybridization of Ambystoma andersoni with Ambystoma mexicanum as well as with some hybridization of Crocodilians

@maylianong8182 2 жыл бұрын

reminds me of blue gill and sun gill fish hybridization .

@blackdragonxtra 14 күн бұрын

Cryptobranchidae: When Salamanders go Crocodile.

@GreasusGoldtooth 2 жыл бұрын

These animals are so cool! I kind of want one as a pet. I'll never do it, but I want one, lol.

@StarDarkAshes 2 жыл бұрын

That would be seriously sick if they breed it a bunch of tigers and lions together and then they released a bunch of ligers back onto the African continent. Totally awesome dude

@1998topornik 2 жыл бұрын

Truly confusing situation.

@ConvincingPeople Жыл бұрын

I love these big lumpy friends so much. :3

@theflyingdutchguy9870 2 жыл бұрын

if something is the same species when they can hybridize. then there would be a lit less species. such as the rhino and gaboon viper. i think it should ciunt different for different groupzls. because something like an amphibian can diversivy into other species a lot faster than something like a mammal.

@SuperZombieFanatic 2 жыл бұрын

Oh this is very similar to the problem with tarantulas; example being Mexican Redknee tarantulas (hamorii and smithii)

@artosbear 2 ай бұрын

No no, it's Tom Paris and Captain Janeway.

@barrybarlowe5640 Жыл бұрын

Actually sounds like a good thing. Not that they're endangered, but they can interbreed. Strengthen the species. This guy seems to be a "Everything must forever remain unchanging!" Short sighted in my opinion.

@yuanyuriestrada9430 2 жыл бұрын

Does this change the description of a subspecies

@AokiZeto 2 жыл бұрын

5:00 is this kind of salamander evolved to be able to breed with closely related giant salamander?

@NoName-cu2qc 2 жыл бұрын

You know what really weird dogs, wolf's and coyotes can all intermix

@brandondavidson4085 Жыл бұрын

That brings up a good point about humans. Can ancient humans who interbred be considered the same species, since modern humans have Neanderthal, Homo Erectus, and Denisovan DNA?

@ianallen738 2 жыл бұрын

I think the important question here that is weighing on everybody's mind is, "Are they delicious?"

@RichiousPath 2 жыл бұрын

Ok I knew these guys were a thing and I have seen them in person. But what? People farm them? That part where they are all swarming is crazy to me.

@scottthesmartape9151 Жыл бұрын

So basically a mule is a normal horse brought together by 2 weird horses that adapted to different environments

@MeshuggahDave. 2 жыл бұрын

I like you about as much as mike on that chapter. Which is a lot btw

@mrdudeman29 2 жыл бұрын

So the Giant salamanders are like different dog breeds? Is that a more useful way to distinguish them?

@sciencegremlin8307 Ай бұрын

Do oceans count as physical barriers? Because if so then before ocean travel was possible between NA and Europe/Asia would North American humans and European/Asian humans be different species? Only to be considered the same species again once transoceanic travel between the two areas was established?

@Mello-208 2 жыл бұрын

quagsire irl

@kylestanley7843 2 жыл бұрын

This beast doesn't really strike me as all that bizarre. Its history was fascinating as well as the discussions that bubbled up with it, but really... it's just a salamander that's big and sorta goofy looking.

@aidanwhite1085 2 жыл бұрын

A Tiger and a Lion can interbreed I will never call them the same species

@MeshuggahDave. 2 жыл бұрын

no mention of negligible senescence?

@justinlei7771 2 жыл бұрын

Probably won't matter much to the overall population health of the salamanders, but will continue to provide lots of academic material for evo biologists for sure

@singingJulie26 2 жыл бұрын

Please make the bizarre beast stickers a perk for P4A 22! I wanted them to a perk since before they existed, now they do, so pleeease ad them as a perk!

@BizarreBeasts 2 жыл бұрын

We do have stickers!!! store.dftba.com/collections/bizarrebeasts

@singingJulie26 2 жыл бұрын

@@BizarreBeasts Yes you do! I want them to be a perk at P4A! (I live in Europe, and I don't like to order to much overseas. I do at P4A though! My once-a-year-DFTBA-treat.)