What are the endangered animals in China?

Chinese alligators live in fresh water, mainly distributed in parts of Anhui, Zhejiang and Jiangxi. It is not only ancient, but also an endangered reptile in the world. Reptiles once ruled the Mesozoic era, when the earth was their world. Later, because of environmental changes, many reptiles such as dinosaurs could not adapt and became extinct. However, reptiles such as Chinese alligators continue to this day. Many features of dinosaurs and reptiles can still be found in Chinese alligators. Therefore, people call the Chinese alligator a "living fossil". Chinese alligators live in reeds or bamboo forests near the water and eat fish, frogs, snails and mussels. But sometimes it attacks poultry and crushes crops. Coupled with the "ugly" appearance, it has long been regarded as a harmful animal, so the number is scarce. The Chinese alligator is about 2 meters long, with a dark brown back and a gray abdomen, and its skin is covered with large horny scales. Every year from June 5438 to 10, he went into the cave to hibernate and didn't come out until April and May of the following year. It breeds with eggs, mates in June, usually lays eggs in July and August, and hatches young crocodiles in September. Chinese alligator is a special animal in China. Nowadays, when people study dinosaurs, in addition to dinosaur fossils, they often infer the living habits of dinosaurs from reptiles such as alligators. Therefore, alligator sinensis is of great significance for people to study the rise and fall of ancient reptiles and the evolution of paleogeology and biology. China has listed the Chinese alligator as a national first-class protected animal, and killing is strictly prohibited. In order to keep the competition of this precious animal going, China has also established nature reserves and farms for artificially raising Chinese alligators in Anhui and Zhejiang.

Unique predation mode Chinese alligator can jump and catch when it encounters enemy injury or hunting on land, and its huge tail can sweep violently when it fails to catch vertically. Unfortunately, although the Chinese alligator has seemingly sharp teeth, it is slotted. This kind of tooth can't bite and chew food, but can only "clip" the food like pliers and swallow it. Therefore, when catching large terrestrial animals, Chinese alligators can't kill them, but drag them into the water and drown them; On the contrary, when Chinese alligators catch large aquatic animals, they will throw them on land, causing their prey to die of lack of oxygen. When a large piece of food can't be swallowed, the Chinese alligator often slaps the food on a stone or tree trunk with its big mouth until the food becomes soft or broken, and then swallows it with its mouth open. If not, it throws its prey aside and lets it rot naturally until it can be swallowed. Chinese alligators also have a special stomach. This stomach is not only rich in gastric acid but also high in acidity, so its digestive function is particularly good.

The Chinese alligator, which is good at digging holes, has superb ability to dig holes in the construction. Its head, tail, pointed toes and claws are all tools for digging holes in the construction. There are often several holes in its caves, some are overgrown with reeds and bamboo forests on the beach, some are at the bottom of the pond, and there are entrances, exits and vents on the ground, as well as side holes adapted to various water levels. The cave twists and turns, criss-crossing, like an underground maze. Perhaps it was this underground maze that helped them survive the cold ice age and the cold winter, and also helped them escape from the enemy and survive.

Anhui alligator national nature reserve

Located in Xuancheng, Anhui Province, with an area of 44,300 hectares, a provincial nature reserve was established in 1975, and was promoted to the national level in 1986. The main object of protection is the Chinese alligator and its ecological environment.

This area is located in the transitional zone between Jiangnan ancient land and Jinling depression. The climate is warm, the rainfall is abundant, the terrain is complicated, and gullies, ponds, canals and dams are scattered all over the place. In ponds, gullies, gullies and reservoirs below 300 meters above sea level, the Chinese alligator, the oldest reptile endemic to China, lives. Chinese alligator and American Mississippi alligator are the only two kinds of freshwater crocodiles in the world, and their numbers are extremely rare, so they are listed as first-class protected animals by the state. Since the establishment of the nature reserve, the population of Chinese alligator has greatly increased through the combination of in-situ protection and artificial reproduction, which has initially lifted the danger of extinction of this species.

Alias Eriocheir sinensis, Longtu and Zhupolong belong to Eriocheir sinensis, and the scientific name is alligator sinensis.

The total length of an adult fish can reach about 2 meters, and the tail length is similar to the body length. The head is flat, the nose and mouth are long, and the external nostril is located in the nose and mouth with a flap. The body is covered with a piece of leather armor, and the abdominal armor is soft; The nail plates are nearly rectangular and neatly arranged; There are two rows of nail plates protruding to form two ridges running through the whole body. The limbs are short and thick, with webbed toes and claws. The back of the body is grayish brown, the front of the abdomen is gray, and it is grayish yellow from the anus to the back. Flat tail. Newborn crocodiles are black with yellow stripes.

He lives by digging holes in rivers and lakes, and he is fierce, feeding on all kinds of mammals, birds, reptiles, amphibians and crustaceans. Mating in June, laying eggs in July and August, each nest can lay more than 20 eggs. The eggs are laid in the grass, covered with weeds, and the female crocodiles stay by and hatch at natural temperature. The incubation period is about 60 days. Have the habit of hibernating.

Produced at the junction of Anhui, Zhejiang and Jiangsu. Chinese alligator is a unique relic species in China, which has many physiological characteristics, and the discontinuity of distribution also illustrates this point. In order to explore the mystery of the Chinese alligator, China established the Chinese alligator reserve and the Chinese alligator breeding research center.

It belongs to the national first-class protected animals.

Chinese alligator is a unique crocodile in China and one of the endangered reptiles in the world. Its body is about 1.5-2 meters long, which is not as huge as African crocodiles and Thai crocodiles. The Chinese alligator has a short and blunt kiss, which is a kind of alligator. Because the Chinese alligator looks like a dragon, it is commonly called "earth dragon" or "pig female dragon". In 1970s, it was taken abroad and traveled around Europe, and became famous all over the world.

Crocodiles and giant dinosaurs once flourished in Mesozoic and dominated the world. However, after 70 million years of extinction, the arrogant dinosaurs became extinct, and the Chinese alligator became one of the few reptiles that survived. Why can the Chinese alligator miraculously survive? This problem has aroused great interest and concern of biologists. Chinese alligator has high scientific research value.

Some people call the Chinese alligator a crocodile and treat it as an aquatic animal such as fish. In fact, Chinese alligators have no gills and are not aquatic animals. It's just that the Chinese alligator has returned to the water, formed some characteristics to adapt to life in the water, and has the amphibious ability. In this way, the Chinese alligator has expanded its life field and easily became the winner in struggle for existence.

Chinese alligators like to inhabit lakes, marshy beaches or hilly mountains and streams in wet areas full of weeds and absinthe. It has superb ability to dig holes in buildings. Its head, tail, pointed toes and claws are the tools for digging holes in buildings. As the saying goes, "There are three caves for cunning rabbits", but there are more than three caves for Chinese alligators. There are often several holes in its caves, some are overgrown with reeds and bamboo forests on the beach, some are at the bottom of the pond, there are entrances and exits and vents on the ground, and there are also side holes adapted to various water levels. The cave twists and turns, criss-crossing, like an underground maze. Perhaps it was this underground maze that helped them survive the cold ice age and the cold winter, and also helped them escape from the enemy and survive.

Chinese alligators are quiet. They often live in caves during the day and go out for food at night. However, it also comes out during the day, and especially likes sunbathing on the shore and beach near the cave. It often closes its eyes, crawls motionless, and is in a state of semi-sleep, giving people the illusion of being slow. However, once it encounters the enemy's injury or finds food, it will immediately swing its thick tail from side to side and quickly sink to the bottom of the water to avoid the enemy's injury or chase food. Its favorite foods are snails, mussels, small fish, shrimps, waterfowl, rabbits, water snakes and other animals. Chinese alligator eats a lot and can store a lot of absorbed nutrients in its body, so it has strong hunger tolerance and can spend a long hibernation period.

The descendants of Chinese alligators once flourished. Seventy or eighty years ago, there were many Chinese alligators living on the floodplain of Wanchunxu in Wuhu, Anhui Province. According to some old people's memories, 1949 it is difficult to hear the roar of the Chinese alligator there. Now, the distribution area of Chinese alligator is shrinking, and the number is also decreasing. What caused this?

Analysis, mainly the destruction of habitat environment. In addition, the Chinese alligator is full of treasures, its meat used to be delicious at banquets, and its skin is a good material for making high-grade leather products, which also has high medicinal value, so it has been hunted and killed by people. Because the Chinese alligator is a carnivore, it will dig holes in the dam, so farmers once regarded it as a pest and killed it when they saw it. Chinese alligators are almost extinct.

For this reason, the China government listed the Chinese alligator as a national first-class protected animal in 1972, and the 1973 Convention on International Trade in Endangered Wild Fauna and Flora listed it as a key protected animal, and the trade was prohibited. 198 1 year, according to experts' estimation, there are only 300-500 Chinese alligators living in the wild at present, and this species may become extinct in1year. Happily, however, the Chinese alligator is not extinct, but its number has greatly increased. How was this miracle created?

In order to protect the Chinese alligator, change its endangered status and make it survive and develop for generations, the China Municipal Government has invested huge material and human resources to establish the Anhui National Nature Reserve and the Chinese alligator Breeding Research Center.

However, the general trend of the extinction of Chinese alligator can not be recovered by its own reproduction. Since 1970s, scientists in China have embarked on a bumpy journey of artificial breeding of alligators. At present, China's technology of artificially incubating crocodile eggs and artificially raising crocodiles has been at the forefront of the world. Thanks to their unremitting efforts, the number of Chinese alligators has increased from 170 in the early days of the farm construction to more than 4,000 now, and the annual breeding number exceeds 1000. Chinese alligator became the first endangered animal approved by international trade conventions for commercial development and utilization.

Another touching story about the Chinese alligator happened in Yinjiabian, a small village in Changxing County, Zhejiang Province, China. 1982, farmers in Yinjiabian captured two Chinese alligators, one female and one male. Although living in poverty, they spontaneously established perhaps the smallest and simplest nature reserve in the world with the simple belief of "never let the national treasure be lost in our village". The villagers in Yinjiabian made their own nests 12 times for the Chinese alligator, laid 236 eggs, hatched 208 young crocodiles, and survived 170. People have protected the Chinese alligator, and the Chinese alligator will certainly benefit mankind.

salamander

Alias giant salamander, crow fish and pike fish, they belong to cryptobranchia, with Latin scientific name Andrias davidianus and English name giant salamander.

Living environment: I live in the mountainous area at an altitude of 200- 1500 m, where the water is fast, the water quality is cool, and there are many stone cracks and caves.

Predation and feeding habits: foraging is not an active attack, open your mouth and wait for the prey to be trapped. I like to eat fish, crabs, shrimps, frogs, snakes and other aquatic animals.

Classification: Amphibia, Anura, Cryptbranchia.

Distribution: It is found in mountains and streams in northeast and southeast Yunnan, and distributed in 17 provinces in China.

The largest species in existence, the maximum hair length can exceed 65438 0 meters. The head is flat and blunt, the mouth is big, the eyes are underdeveloped, and there are no eyelids. The front of the body is flat, and the tail gradually turns to the side. There are obvious skin folds on both sides of the body, and the limbs are short and flat, with five toes on the forelimbs and four toes on the hind limbs, which are slightly webbed. The tail is round and has fins up and down. The body surface is smooth and covered with mucus. The back of the body is mixed with brown and red, and the ventral color is lighter.

Living in Qingxi in mountainous areas, they usually hide in the crevices of the mountain stream, and the caves are below the water surface. The cry is also like a baby crying, so it is commonly known as "giant salamander". Laying eggs in July-August every year, with more than 300 eggs per tail. Male salamanders wrap their eggs on their backs and hatch after 2-3 weeks.

China is endemic to North China, Central China, South China and Southwest China. The heart has a special structure and some reptilian characteristics, which has important research value. The number is scarce and needs protection.

Protection: Because of its tender meat and delicious taste, it has been hunted for a long time. The number of producing areas has dropped sharply, and some producing areas are on the verge of extinction. It has been listed as a national second-class protected animal and CITES Appendix I. ..

Alias giant salamander, it belongs to Amphibia with uropoda. Among amphibians, it is the largest, with a total length of 1 m to 1.5 m, and the heaviest can exceed 100 kg, but it looks a bit like a lizard, but it is fatter and flatter. Giant salamanders live in mountain streams and caves with clear water quality, low sediment concentration, rapid water flow and backwater. The giant salamander has a flat and blunt head, a big mouth, underdeveloped eyes and no eyelids. The front of the body is flat, and the tail gradually turns to the side. There are obvious skin folds on both sides of the body, short and flat limbs, and slightly webbed fingers and toes. The tail is round and has fins up and down. The body surface is smooth and covered with mucus. The back of the body is mixed with brown and red, and the ventral color is lighter. Giant salamanders lay eggs from July to August every year, with more than 300 eggs per tail. The male giant salamander wraps its eggs on its back and hatches after 2-3 weeks.

Produced in North China, Central China, South China and Southwest provinces. Giant salamander is an endemic species in China, and it is commonly called "giant salamander" because its cry is like a baby crying. The heart structure of giant salamander is special, and some reptilian characteristics have appeared, which has important research value. Because the meat is delicious, it is regarded as a treasure and has been killed. Resources have been severely damaged and need to be protected. It belongs to the national second-class protected animals.

Baiji dolphin

Status of species: extremely endangered! It is not yet certain whether it is extinct. At present, the last discovery is the carcass of baiji which ran aground in Nanjing section of the Yangtze River in July 2004.

Baiji j ì tú n (Lipotes vexillifer) is a national first-class protected animal, also known as Baiji Dolphin and Baiji Dolphin. Vertebrates, mammals, whales, toothed whales. The baiji family was originally a freshwater dolphin, which was founded in the late 1970s at the suggestion of Professor Zhou Kaiya, a scientist in China.

Small whale, a specialty of China. The body is spindle-shaped, with a length of 1.5 ~ 2.5 meters and a weight of 230 kg. The snout is long and narrow, about 30 cm, with the front end slightly upturned. The injection hole is longitudinal and located on the left side of the head. The eyes are small, and there is a quarrel between the top and the back. Ear holes are needle-shaped The dorsal fin is triangular, the flippers are wider, the ends are blunt and round, and the caudal fin is crescent-shaped. The back of the body is light blue-gray and the front is white.

Baiji dolphin mainly lives in the middle and lower reaches of the Yangtze River and its connected waters, such as Dongting Lake, Poyang Lake and Qiantang River. Usually in pairs or above 10, they like to move in deep water and fast water. The life span of baiji dolphin can reach more than 30 years. Generally speaking, females reach sexual maturity at the age of 6 and males at the age of 4. Adult baiji is in estrus twice a year, from March to May and from August to 10. The gestation period is10-1month, with one litter and occasionally two litters. In the wild, the male-female ratio of adult baiji is 1: 1, but the pregnancy rate of females is generally only 30%, and the natural reproduction rate is very low.

Baiji dolphin is a carnivore, with about 130 sharp teeth in its mouth, belonging to the same type. Often swim to the shallow water on the shore in the early morning and evening to hunt. Generally speaking, the whole freshwater fish with a body length of less than 6.5 cm is the main food, and a small amount of aquatic plants and insects are also eaten. When breathing, the head comes out first, then all the water comes out, 2 meters upstream of the water surface, and then enters the water. Baiji dolphin's vision is almost zero, and it has extensive scientific research value in biology, bionics and physiology by relying on echolocation to understand environmental changes.

1980 65438+ 10 In October, fishermen in Jiayu County, Hubei Province captured the world's first living male baiji near the mouth of Dongting Lake, and immediately sent it to the Institute of Aquatic Biology, Chinese Academy of Sciences, Wuhan City, Hubei Province for artificial propagation, named Qiqi. Scientists study Qiqi's behavior and physiology, including seasonal changes, hematology, treatment, feeding and so on. , filling the blank of knowledge of baiji. In June 5438+February 65438+May of that year, China temporarily issued a set of 2 T.57 "White Dolphin" stamps, namely "carefree" and "diving around the bottom", with a circulation of 6.5438+0.5 million sets. With Qiqi's increasing popularity and influence at home and abroad, SB (2) "White Dolphin" small promissory note was issued one month after the stamp was issued. Qiqi, who lives in Wuhan, has since become the "image ambassador" of Wuhan. 1September 29th, 992 to 101October 5th, the 4th National Universiade was held in Wuhan, Hubei. On September 28th of the same year, JP.33 Postcards commemorating the 4th People's Republic of China (PRC) Universiade were issued, and the "Qiqi" belt and fishfin bouquet were presented on the postage map as the mascots of the Universiade. On February 25th, 2000, China issued a mini-pane of the special stamp "National Key Protected Wild Animals (Grade I) 2000-3S". The mini-pane contains 10 stamps and two bridge cards with no face value, of which the seventh one is "White Dolphin" with a face value of 2.60 yuan. At that time, the whole baiji population was less than 100! On July 14, 2002, "Qiqi" left us, and the fate of the natural population of Baiji dolphin was once again shrouded in dark clouds.

From June 6, 2006 to February 6, 2006, nearly 40 scientists from China, the United States, Britain, Japan, Germany and Switzerland made a round trip of nearly 3,400 kilometers, and made a 38-day investigation on the Yichang-Shanghai 1700 km section of the middle and lower reaches of the Yangtze River. Up to now, the largest international expedition aims to find two kinds of freshwater mammals that breed in the Yangtze River, the finless porpoise and the most endangered mammal, the baiji. However, to the disappointment of the researchers, not only the number of finless porpoises decreased greatly, but also no trace of baiji was found during the whole scientific research. From 1997 to 1999, the Ministry of Agriculture organized a large-scale monitoring operation for the baiji for three consecutive years, and the baiji found in the three years were 13, 4 and 4 respectively. The result of this survey is 0.

According to fossil records, baiji migrated from the Pacific Ocean to the Yangtze River 25 million years ago. China's ancient book Erya more than 2,000 years ago also recorded the baiji, which was regarded as a river god. Baiji dolphins were once widely distributed in Dongting Lake and Poyang Lake in the Yangtze River basin, and were found as far as 35 kilometers upstream of Gezhouba in the Three Gorges area and the Yangtze River estuary near Shanghai. It is estimated that there used to be as many as 5000 in history. However, for a long time, affected by human activities, its population has been decreasing and its distribution area has gradually narrowed.

Baiji dolphin is timid by nature and easily frightened. Generally far away from the ship, it is difficult to get close. In addition, it has a small population and a wide range of activities, so the research on the wild baiji is very limited.

The baiji dolphin is streamlined and elegant. Adult baiji is generally about 2.5 meters long and weighs 100 to 200 kilograms. Females are slightly smaller than males. By 2006, the largest female animal found was 253 cm long and weighed 237 kg. The largest male animal found is 2 16 cm long and weighs 125 kg.

The skin of baiji is smooth and delicate, and it has a special elasticity. The principle is the same as the elastic nylon fabric used in competitive swimming suits, which can reduce the turbulence around the body when swimming fast in water. Its caudal fin is divided into two forks, the pectoral fin on both sides is flat palm-shaped and the dorsal fin is triangular. These four fins provide excellent direction and balance control for baiji swimming in the water. Coupled with smooth and elastic skin and streamlined body, baiji can swim at a speed of 60 kilometers per hour when avoiding danger. Usually, it maintains a swimming speed of 10 to 15 kilometers per hour.

The newborn larvae are slightly darker in color, and the adult baiji generally has a light blue-gray back and a clean white abdomen, which is particularly bright under the sunlight. The upper and lower surfaces of horizontally extending flippers and caudal fins are the same color as the back and ventral surfaces, respectively, so the color distribution is just in line with the environmental color. Looking down from the water surface, it is difficult to distinguish the bluish gray on the back from the river water; Looking up from the bottom of the water, it is difficult to find that the white belly is similar to the strong light reflected from the water surface. This makes the baiji have a natural hidden barrier when fleeing from the enemy and approaching the prey.

The snout of the baiji is long and narrow, extending forward, about 30 cm. Its teeth are densely distributed on both sides of the maxilla and mandible, with more than 30 conical teeth/kloc-0. The forehead is round and protruding forward, like a focused lens in a camera, so it is called "frontal lobe", which is the most important part of the vocal organs of baiji. The breathing hole or "nostril" is located at the upper left of the head, which is small and rectangular and can be opened and closed freely. Usually, the baiji will come out of the water for air every 10 to 30 seconds, and it will make a "poop-poop" sound during the air exchange.

The eyes of baiji are located at the back and upper corner of the mouth, as small as mung beans. The outer auricle has disappeared, and the ear hole is still there, just as small as the eye of a needle, blocked, and it is a trace organ. Because baiji has lived in the turbid water of the Yangtze River for a long time, its vision and hearing are seriously degraded. In water, it mainly uses sonar to receive signals to identify objects. The upper respiratory tract of baiji has three pairs of unique airbags and a throat shaped like a goose's head, but because it lives in water and makes sounds by water, it doesn't have the vocal cords needed by land animals to make sounds in the air. Through a special hydrophone, you can hear dozens of different sounds, such as the "answer" and "quack" sounds made by the baiji. Baiji dolphins often make sounds in pairs. After making a sound, they will wait for the echo quietly, so as to distinguish the distance and size between themselves and the obstacle that produces the echo and consider whether to swim to the target. It will make a new pair of sounds soon after receiving the echo, and then wait for the echo quietly for a while. After receiving the second echo, it can analyze the swimming direction and speed of the target. This is how the baiji locates the echo like an artificial sonar. With this unique sonar system, it can often catch food in the mud at the bottom of the river, and it can also send out high-frequency sound waves that people can't hear, and contact companions more than ten kilometers away.

The brain surface area of baiji dolphin is larger than that of dolphins, and the brain weight accounts for about 0.5% of the whole. Among them, the average weight of a male dolphin weighing 95 kilograms is 470 grams. This weight is close to the brain weight of gorillas and chimpanzees, and some scholars even think that baiji is smarter than chimpanzees or gibbons.