Overview
The eastern hellbender is a large, aquatic salamander that occurs in cool, permanent streams across 15 states. Cool and clear water is important because hellbenders breathe entirely through their skin, which contains numerous folds to increase oxygen absorption. Adult eastern hellbenders spend most of their life under large, flat rocks that shelter them; whereas larval and juvenile hellbenders hide beneath large rocks and under small stones in gravel beds. Eastern hellbenders are one of two subspecies of hellbenders, with the Ozark Hellbender being the other subspecies.
In 2021, the U.S. Fish and Wildlife Service (Service) listed eastern hellbender populations in Missouri, referred to as a Distinct Population Segment, as endangered. In 2024, the Service proposed to list the eastern hellbender as endangered throughout its entire range due to threats from sedimentation, water quality degradation, habitat destruction, disease, and direct mortality. Of the 626 known historical populations, 41% are believed to be extirpated, and another 36% are declining. Addition of the eastern hellbender, range-wide, to the endangered species list would help prevent extinction and facilitate conservation of this unique animal.
Scientific Name
Identification Numbers
Characteristics
Habitat
Hellbenders live in perennial streams and rivers of the eastern and central United States where they spend much of their time lying motionless under large, flat rocks.
Physical Characteristics
Hellbenders are the largest salamander in North America, growing up to two feet long. Although they are amphibians, they spend their entire life in water. Their flattened bodies enable them to move in fast flowing waters. They have large, keeled tails, tiny eyes and numerous fleshy folds along the sides of their bodies provide surface area for respiration.
Life Cycle
Male hellbenders are caretakers for the eggs and young. A male will find a large rock and burrow a space under it for egg laying. He then waits to entice a female to his space. If successful, a female enters the burrow and he will not let her leave until she lays eggs that he fertilizes. The male then maintains and guards the nest until the eggs hatch. There are some indications that even after hatching, males will stay for a time to protect and tend to the young hatchlings.
Geography
Eastern hellbenders are found across 15 states: northeastern Mississippi, northern Alabama, northern Georgia, Tennessee, western North Carolina, western Virginia, West Virginia, Kentucky, eastern Illinois, southern Indiana, Ohio, Pennsylvania, western Maryland, and southern New York, with distinct populations occurring in east-central Missouri.
Timeline
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