Eastern hellbender

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Hellbenders are large, fully aquatic salamanders that are characterized by flat heads and loose folds of skin located along the lower sides of their bodies that are used for respiration since hellbenders lack external gills and their lungs are used only for buoyancy. Adults average about 12.5 oz and vary in length between 11-29 inches.
Although hellbenders can swim they prefer to walk along the bottom of the rivers in which they live. Their flattened shape allows them to move especially well along the bottom of fast moving streams.
Hellbenders are nocturnal except for some diurnal activity during the breeding season.
Hellbenders are solitary animals outside of the breeding season and violent conflicts often occur during meetings between two hellbenders.
Hellbenders suck their prey into their mouths.
Hellbenders are sexually dimorphic with females being somewhat larger than males.

Range – across the Appalachian region (from southern New York to northern Georgia) and also in Illinois, Indiana, Kentucky and Ohio
Habitat – Cold, clean, fast moving rivers with large rocks, rarely in water warmer than 68oF; they spend most of their time under rocks.

Adult hellbenders only come together to breed. Males stake out territories under large rocks to provide a nesting area to attract females. These rocks are highly sought after by other males and fights often occur over nesting rocks.
Female hellbenders lay 100-500 eggs which are then fertilized by the male. The eggs hatch 68-84 days after fertilization. Hellbender larvae begin life approximately 1 inch long and have external gills until they reach approximately 2 years of age.
Hellbender eggs are guarded by their father until they hatch. The larvae may remain under the cover rock with their father for weeks or months after hatching.
Hellbenders become sexually mature between 5 and 8 years of age.
Hellbenders are one of the few salamanders to exhibit external fertilization.

Major Threats: The largest threat to hellbenders is habitat degradation which is caused by human activities such as logging and mining, and the construction of dams and other structures.
Other significant threats include pollution, over collection for use as pets or laboratory specimens, and deliberate killings due to false beliefs that hellbenders are poisonous and kill game fish.

Fish, minks, otters, raccoons, snakes, turtles and humans are some of the main predators of hellbenders. Larger hellbenders may also eat smaller hellbenders.
Hellbenders are solitary animals outside of the breeding season and violent conflicts often occur during meetings between two hellbenders.
The hellbender is the largest species of amphibian in North America.

Geoffrey Hammerson, Christopher Phillips 2004. Cryptobranchus alleganiensis. The IUCN Red List of Threatened Species. Version 2014.2. <www.iucnredlist.org>. Downloaded on 31 August 2014.
Herman, J. 2000. "Cryptobranchus alleganiensis" (On-line), Animal Diversity Web. Accessed August 31, 2014 at http://animaldiversity.ummz.umich.edu/accounts/Cryptobranchus_alleganiensis/
Hellbender , Smithsonian Conservation Biology Institute. Accessed August 31, 2014 at http://www.nwf.org/Wildlife/Wildlife-Library/Amphibians-Reptiles-and-Fish/Hellbender.aspx.

Updated August 2014