..the giant salamander, 2010, Cryptozooscity). There are fears that giant salamanders may meet the same fate as dinosaurs, given that modern life has exposed them to quick-moving, larger-brained humans who consider them a delicacy and will hunt them with greater determination than previous predators. The amphibian's size makes them "lucrative prey for hunters, who can sell the flesh for around U.S.$100 per kg (£30 per lb)," a considerable sum when one salamander can grow to over one hundred pounds (Black 2005). "They are protected species; but in China, illegal hunting is bringing them within sight of extinction" (Black 2005). Observed one conservationist: "They are easy to catch, hiding in rock crevasses during the day, and people know where to find them" (Black 2005).

The loss of these giant relics would not merely be a loss of a link to human evolutionary history of the past: the salamanders may also provide humans with keys to improving biodiversity in the future. Despite their vulnerability to being hunted, they are immune to the fungal...

"If scientists can figure out why, they can possibly use the knowledge to help other salamanders and frogs" (Giant salamanders, 2010, CNN). The knowledge gained about the past from these large animals, in terms of why other animals such as the dinosaurs become extinct, and also how to protect more numerous amphibians from a rapidly-spreading illness cannot be discounted.
References

Black, Richard. (2005, September 19). Hunting threat to big amphibians. BBC News. Retrieved July 27, 2010 at http://news.bbc.co.uk/2/hi/science/nature/4259596.stm

Giant salamanders may help scientists fight extinction threat. (2010, July 21). CNN. Retrieved

July 27, 2010 at http://www.latimes.com/sns-giant-salamander,0,3628440.story

The living fossil...the giant salamander (2010, February). Cryptozooscity. Retrieved July 27, 2010 at http://cryptozoo-oscity.blogspot.com/2010/02/living-fossilthe-giant-salamander.html