The Ozark hellbender, which can grow longer than two feet, is found in streams in northern Arkansas and southern Missouri. The eastern hellbender ranges from Mississippi to New York. Both have declined in recent years and remain threatened with extinction due to water pollution and dams.
The hellbender Cryptobranchus alleganiensis , also known as the hellbender salamander, is a species of giant salamander that is endemic to eastern North America. The Ozark hellbender has declined by 75 percent since the s, with fewer than remaining in the wild. The primary threat facing Ozark hellbenders is degradation of their aquatic habitats from sources such as mining, fertilizer runoff and animal operations. The eastern hellbender has declined by at least 30 percent.
Hellbenders are fully aquatic salamanders, meaning they never leave the water. During the day, hellbenders like to take refuge under rocks, and can be killed if a person unknowingly steps on that rock. The picturesque landscapes of the Ozark corridor attract many recreationalists for various activities. Currently the Missouri Department of Conservation is trying to foster the growth of outdoor recreation in the area of fishing by introducing non-native fish, such as trout, for sport fishing into the hellbender habitats.
The introduction of such fish can ruin the habitat of the hellbender by out-competing the salamander for food. Salmomids like the trout are also predators and eat hellbender eggs and larvae.
The hellbenders are being forced to live in smaller portions of these beautiful rivers and that creates a biological problem. Hellbender populations are being disconnected from each other; this causes greater population inbreeding and less genetic diversity.
Most of those small habitats are being affected by Chytrid fungus. This fungus has been known to wipe out entire hellbender populations in captivity. Organizations like the St. Louis Zoo and the Mammoth Spring Hatchery attempted to breed hellbenders in captivity in an effort to restore hellbender numbers but results have been unsuccessful.
Recently, the National Fish and Wildlife Service , has decided to try to list the Ozark Hellbender as an endangered sub-species. This will make an extra step to thwart illegal collection of the hellbender for sale in the pet trade.
They usually have some sort of darker spots or blotches on their bodies, but the belly is usually only one color. If you pick up a hellbender you will find out very quickly that they are extremely slimy! This makes them very difficult to catch and to handle, but the slime is not poisonous. Nickerson and Mays witnessed a dog grab a hellbender in its mouth.
It quickly dropped the salamander with distaste. Hellbenders do have many, tiny teeth, but they usually don't try to bite. I have held many hellbenders and not a single one has ever tried to bite unless I was intentionally provoking it! Unlike mudpuppies, hellbenders have external gills only as larvae. They lose the gills when they reach about 5 inches long, but retain gill slits through their entire lives.
Hellbenders are completely aquatic. Only rarely have they been reported to come out of the water for any period of time. Where Do They Live? Since hellbenders spend their entire lives in water they need to have streams that are cool enough and which have enough oxygen to sustain them.
Where do you find streams like that?
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