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Mud river dog1/12/2024 ![]() Easily distinguished from most other endemic salamander species simply by their size, hellbenders average up to 60 cm or about 2 ft in length the only species requiring further distinction (due to an overlap in distribution and size range) is the common mudpuppy ( Necturus maculosus). The hellbender has a few characteristics that make it distinguishable from other native salamanders, including a gigantic, dorsoventrally flattened body with thick folds travelling down the sides, a single open gill slit on each side, and hind feet with five toes each. Hellbenders reach sexual maturity at about five years of age, and may live 30 years in captivity. An adult weighs 1.5 to 2.5 kg (3.3 to 5.5 lb), making them the fifth heaviest living amphibian in the world after their South China, Chinese and Japanese cousins and the goliath frog, while the largest cane toads may also weigh as much as a hellbender. It is blotchy brown or red-brown in color, with a paler underbelly.īoth males and females grow to an adult length of 24 to 40 cm (9.4 to 15.7 in) from snout to vent, with a total length of 30 to 74 cm (12 to 29 in), making them the fourth-largest aquatic salamander species in the world (after the South China giant salamander, the Chinese giant salamander and the Japanese giant salamander, respectively) and the largest amphibian in North America, although this length is rivaled by the reticulated siren of the southeastern United States (although the siren is much leaner in build). Only occasionally leaving the water, the hellbender makes little use of these lungs and the juveniles lose their external gills after around 18 months Hellbenders use their lungs for buoyancy more than breathing. The hellbender has working lungs, but gill slits are often retained, although only immature specimens have true gills the hellbender absorbs oxygen from the water through capillaries of its side frills. Their tail is shaped like a rudder, but it is rarely used for swimming these salamanders use pads on their toes instead to grip rocks and walk up and down streams instead of swimming. Like most salamanders, it has short legs with four toes on the front legs and five on its back limbs, and its tail is keeled for propulsion. alleganiensis has a flat body and head, with beady dorsal eyes and slimy skin. The subspecific name bishopi is in honor of American herpetologist Sherman C. The generic name, Cryptobranchus, is derived from the Ancient Greek kryptos (hidden) and branchion (gill). Other vernacular names include snot otter, lasagna lizard, devil dog, mud-devil, mud dog, water dog, grampus, Allegheny alligator, and leverian water newt. One theory claims the hellbender was named by settlers who thought "it was a creature from hell where it's bent on returning." Another rendition says the undulating skin of a hellbender reminded observers of "horrible tortures of the infernal regions." In reality, it's a harmless aquatic salamander. ![]() The name 'hellbender' probably comes from the animal's odd look. The Missouri Department of Conservation says: The origin of the name "hellbender" is unclear. The species is listed as Vulnerable on the IUCN Red List of Threatened Species. The hellbender, which is much larger than all other salamanders in its geographic range, employs an unusual means of respiration (which involves cutaneous gas exchange through capillaries found in its dorsoventral skin folds), and fills a particular niche-both as a predator and prey-in its ecosystem, which either it or its ancestors have occupied for around 65 million years. Other closely related salamanders in the same family are in the genus Andrias, which contains the Japanese and Chinese giant salamanders. A member of the family Cryptobranchidae, the hellbender is the only extant member of the genus Cryptobranchus. ![]() It is the largest salamander in North America. The hellbender ( Cryptobranchus alleganiensis), also known as the hellbender salamander, is a species of aquatic giant salamander endemic to the eastern and central United States.
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