A National Geographic article about the discovery of an extremely rare Chinese giant salamander by a fisherman in Chonqing, China, quotes salamander expert Todd Pierson, BS ’13.

Pierson, who is currently pursuing his doctorate at the University of Tennessee, has researched salamanders in Europe, Central America, the Middle East, and the southern Appalachians. In 2012 he travelled to a remote region of China’s Qinghai province to study Chinese giant salamanders as a National Geographic Young Explorer.

The largest amphibians on earth, Chinese giant salamanders are critically endangered due to habitat loss and their popularity as a delicacy.

Read the article: This Giant Salamander Isn’t 200 Years Old, But It’s Still Super Rare