However, according to the research of biologists, it is a miracle that they have been living in this environment of high temperature, lack of oxygen and lack of food since 50 thousand years ago. Why they can survive for so long has aroused biologists' great curiosity.
The tortuous and helpless evolution of the scorpion
Giant salamander is a kind of desert fish, which can only be found in Mojave desert due to living conditions? Death Valley? The Devil's Cave in National Park was not discovered until 1930. Its body length is only about 2.5 cm, which is about the size of a small fish just hatched in a stream. Very inconspicuous. But it is the only species of LEPIDOPTERA, CYPRINIDAE, and all LEPIDOPTERA in the world are in this demon cave, with only 38 in 20 16.
Living environment of giant salamander
The devil's cave is in poor condition. Death Valley? It is the lowest, hottest and driest area in North America. Fortunately, the Devil's Cave is relatively deep, and the water surface at the bottom of the cave is 0/5 meter away from the entrance/kloc-,so the last shade of the Mojave Desert is kept in the cave. But even so, the water temperature at the bottom of the cave remains around 32℃ all the year round, which is almost the survival temperature limit of most fish. Moreover, due to seasonal reasons, the sun moves south, and the bottom of the Devil's Cave cannot be directly exposed to the sun for at least two months.
This means that the oxygen content in the water where the magic salamander is located is extremely low, because there is no tap water to supplement it, only the infiltrated water source, and in the days without sunshine, the photosynthesis efficiency of algae in the water is very low, so the magic salamander lives in this crystal clear water desert with extremely bad conditions. This day can be imagined!
Evolution of giant salamander
The devil's cave has been formed for more than 500 thousand years, but the devil came to this cave at the end of the last ice age 50 thousand years ago. 50,000 years of isolation is enough for a species to evolve into a subspecies. Moreover, Devil's Cave is a kind of desert fish with strong adaptability, especially its growth after hatching is very susceptible to environmental influence. This flexibility is called phenotypic plasticity, which leads to this feature. According to biologists' observation in the simulated environment, it only takes five years for the salamander to differentiate the subtle differences in appearance first.
This super plasticity allows the magic salamander to independently evolve the skills to deal with the harsh environment in this cave. High temperature, lack of oxygen and lack of food can not affect their survival, so in 50 thousand years, no matter how the outside world changes, desert fish have survived tenaciously.
The biggest crisis in the history of scorpion survival, comparable? Dinosaur extinction?
The devil has suffered two crises in history. For the first time, the increase of human activities led to the sharp increase of irrigation water for local agriculture and animal husbandry, which led to the decline of underground water source in Devil's Cave, and the water temperature began to rise after the water volume decreased. 1995 spring, there were more than 300-500 magic salamanders. By 20 13, only 35 were left! In this do or die, the scorpion is threatened by an asteroid impact that is no less than the extinction of dinosaurs.
20 16 April, 3 tourists (Edgar in North Las Vegas? Reyes and Steven? Schwenkendorf and Trenton of Indian Springs? Sargent) drunk and broke into the devil's hole, swimming naked and vomiting in the only water in the world where the devil lives, just at this time, it is the breeding period of the devil. After being destroyed by these three drunkards, a large number of fish eggs died, and the devil came to the dangerous moment of extinction.
Finally, through the efforts of environmental protection organizations to improve the living environment of giant salamander, it finally recovered to 187 on 20 18, which finally made everyone breathe a sigh of relief!
Video of the devil's cave during the earthquake
On July 5, 20 19, an earthquake of magnitude 7. 1 occurred near trona in California, USA, affecting Death Valley National Park. The earthquake caused great waves in the waters at the bottom of the Devil's Cave, but in the morning, the staff found that there were no stranded monsters on the shore, and the monsters fled again.
But giant salamander is still endangered!
Since the Cambrian explosion of life, life on earth has gone through five extinctions. Many friends think that there will be no major events in 65 million years. Actually, not at all. The last extinction was accompanied by the expansion of human beings on the earth since the appearance of human beings, and the extinction of this species. Since the industrial revolution, the extinction rate may be increasing with the naked eye.
I hope that in the future development, there will not be only lonely humans left!