The Conservation Commission of the State of Missouri

I. Introduction 

A. Shared and scientific names 

1. Common names: muddy puppy, devil dog, mud devil and ground puppy. 

2. Scientific name: Cryptobranchus alleganiensis (Nickerson and Mays, 1973) 

B. Geographic range 

1. Eastern North America 

2. Southeast Missouri 

3. Northeast Arkansas. 

C. Specific location 

1. South New York 

2. North Alabama. 

D. Specific location biome 

Silt-free Mountain streams from South New York to North Alabama (Nickerson and Mays, 1973). 

E. Background information and description 

1. Listed as an endangered species 

2. Morphology 

a. The largest salamander in the United States because it can grow up to 29 inches 

b. The salamander has beady dorsal eyes 

c. Its skin is slimy, and it has a head and flat body 

d. Its front legs have four short toes while the back limbs have five toes, for propulsion the salamander has a keeled tail (Johnson and Briggler, 2004). 

e. Only mature hellbenders have side frills for absorbing water via capillaries; the young hellbenders have gills for breathing, they all have functioning lungs 

f. All hellbenders have pale underbellies, while some have red-brown or blotchy brown bodies. 

II. Life Cycle of the Organism 

A. Egg masses 

a. Consist of 150-200 per female over a three day period 

b. Eggs are connected by cords and are 20mm in diameter(Johnson, Briggler, 2004). 

c. The male covers them with sperm as they are laid 

B. Mature salamanders. 

a. The breeding season occurs in the fall 

b. The male has to wait in position until the female oviposits, after which the male lures the female into the nest for mating and fertilization (Johnson, Briggler, 2004) 

c. The hellbender is the only salamander that performs external fertilization. 

d. The male undulate to ensure water circulates the nest for oxygen during the incubation period 

e. the eggs take 45-75 days to hatch 

III. Structure and Function 

a. The hellbender is nocturnal 

b. It feeds on crayfish and other small fish, the hellbender also fed on each other, snakes found water and tadpoles. 

IV. Additional Interest 

V. Evolution 

The salamander is an amphibian 

a. Species: Aquatic giant salamander endemic 

b. Family Cryptobranchidae, 

c. Genus Cryptobranchus, and Andrias(Johnson, Briggler, 2004) 

VI. Conclusion 

The hellbender is the largest among the salamander family. 

References 

Johnson, T. R.; Briggler, J. (2004). "The Hellbender" (PDF). The Conservation Commission of the State of Missouri. 

Nickerson, M.A.; Mays, C.E. (1973). The hellbenders: North American "giant salamanders." Milwaukee Public Museum.