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Alleganiensis
Hellbender, Cryptobranchus
alleganiensis
The hellbender is a
large, totally aquatic salamander characterized by loose highly folded
skin along the lower sides of the body.
The folds of skin are used for respiration.
The body of the hellbender is dorsoventrally compressed and the
head is extremely flattened. The
length in adults varies from 11-29 inches.
The hellbender is strictly carnivorous; diet primarily consisting
of crayfish, but insects, fish, and worms will also be eaten.
The hellbender prefers clear fast-flowing larger streams and rivers
with rocky bottoms and plenty of cover in the form of logs and debris.
Agricultural runoff and the acidic runoff from large scale mining
operations threaten much of the hellbenders habitat.
The most serious threat to the future of the hellbender is the
impoundment of rivers and streams for the formation of recreational lakes
and hydroelectric facilities. The
hellbender occupies the Susquehanna River drainage in southern New York
and Pennsylvania, and large portions of the Missouri, Ohio and Mississippi
River drainage and extreme southern Indiana, most of West Virginia,
Kentucky, and Tennessee.
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