1. Customs seized fire salamanders
Recently, when Beijing Customs conducted an X-ray image inspection of a package from abroad, it found an anomaly: the mail contained a plastic fast food box, and inside the box were damp mosses, ferns, and more than a dozen lizard-like reptiles clustered inside. The animal was identified as a fire salamander, of which 9 were live females and 10 cubs, which were typical exotic organisms.
Female fire salamanders already have the ability to mate and reproduce, and it is doubtful whether the cubs were born by females in transit. But this is not the point, the fire salamander as an alien organism, once settled in the country, will pose a huge threat to the indigenous small reptiles.
The fire salamanders seized this time are 15-25 cm long and weigh about 40 grams; the body surface is mostly black, with yellow markings or spots dotted on the back, some individuals are yellow or black, and occasionally a red, orange or white body can be seen. Fire salamanders are mainly distributed in Central and Southern Europe at altitudes of 400-1000 meters, with germany and the Netherlands being the most numerous.
In fact, China's customs in recent years seized a significant increase in alien species, this year alone seized a number of giant ants, pit bull ants, without exception are mailed from abroad, and the harvest address is sometimes written vaguely, sometimes the ordinary shopper's mail package, the means emerge in an endless stream, bringing great pressure to China's customs staff.
2, the fire salamander is terrible
The fire salamander is terrifying because of its several special skills, which is why many countries are strictly guarding it. Fire salamander limbs have a regenerative function. Professor Enrique of Biology at the University of Manchester, when studying the fire salamander, first cut off its limbs, but less than a month later the fire salamander re-grew limbs.
After the tail is removed, the tadpole usually re-grows after 9 days, but after becoming a frog, it will lose its regenerative function. Fire salamander is different, regeneration function is almost accompanied by its entire life cycle, but the regeneration speed is fast and the time taken is short in juvenile and young adulthood; when it is old, the fire salamander cells and tissues are aging, the regeneration cycle is prolonged, and the speed is low, which is in line with natural laws.
By the way, why fire salamanders can regenerate. Scientists have found that when the fire salamander perceives limb loss, it will release an enzyme that can promote a "bud base" of cell tissue to cooperate with other tissue cells to re-enter the replication and growth mode, and finally complete limb regeneration. Cutting-edge science is currently conducting more in-depth research on fire salamanders in anticipation of the application of rebirth skills to humans.
Another skill of the fire salamander is to release venom, which can be described as a "dimensionality reduction blow" against ordinary small insects and reptiles. There are many markings on the skin of the head and back of the fire salamander, and a large number of poisonous glands are attached to it. When the fire salamander is in danger or caught, the toxin glands secrete a large amount of nerve salamander alkali toxin, which often has symptoms such as muscle spasms, high blood pressure and hyperventilation after being infected with the toxin.
Overall, the side effects of fire salamander toxin on people are not too strong, and spiders, earthworms and slugs can often be fatal in one blow, but the toxin cannot be sprayed on people's eyes, which can easily cause blindness.
Fire salamanders have a long lifespan and strong reproductive abilities. The lifespan of the fire salamander is not a problem for one or two decades, and a salamander in the Alexander Koenig Museum in Germany lived for 50 years. Their long lifespan means they have enough time to reproduce, and adult fire salamanders can give birth to 30 or 40 cubs at a time, up to a maximum of 60. These fire salamander cubs can eat a large cricket after 3 months, and when the venom glands have matured, they can even eat a frog.
China is a vast country, and most of the creatures on the earth can find a suitable environment for survival, that is to say, the fire salamander has a high probability of survival. However, the fire salamander is very aggressive, at the top of the chain of small reptiles, and the country is not sure that there are natural predators that restrain it. Once invaded our country, it is likely to multiply in large quantities in a short period of time, bringing disaster to small insects such as crickets.
Original: Old High