Eastern Hellbender Missouri Department of Conservation

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Hellbenders are large aquatic salamanders. They have a wide, flat head with tiny eyes and a broad and vertically compressed, rudderlike tail. The body and legs are covered with prominent folds of skin. Missouri is the only state that contains both recognized subspecies of North American hellbenders. Both have experienced marked declines and are species of conservation concern. The current taxonomy of hellbenders will likely be changed soon with the elevation of additional species and subspecies. The eastern hellbender (subspecies) is a large, entirely aquatic salamander. Its head is broad and flat, with small, lidless eyes. The sides of the body have soft, pronounced folds of skin. The legs also have large flaps of skin. The tail is flattened and rudderlike. A gill opening is present on each side of the head. Body color varies from red brown to dull gray brown. Brown to black irregular spots are often present on juveniles, but adults are typically uniform in color. The chin and lower lip usually lack dark markings or spots. The belly is a uniform dark tan or grayish brown and is lighter in color than the rest of the body; however, during the breeding season the belly can be orange. Similar species: The Ozark hellbender subspecies (Cryptobranchus alleganiensis bishopi is very similar. Its adult size averages slightly smaller (10–21 inches) (as opposed to 13–23 inches for eastern hellbender); it is gray brown to olive green above, and the body has large dark markings and blotching. Perhaps the easiest way to distinguish it is by its different geography: it occurs in south-flowing rivers in the southern Missouri Ozarks (as opposed to north- and northeast-flowing rivers in the northern Missouri Ozarks). Also similar to hellbenders are mudpuppies (Necturus spp.); mudpuppies, however, have external gills, which are red and plumelike, behind the head on both sides. They have 4 toes on each foot. As adults, mudpuppies reach only 8–13 inches in length. Hellbenders lose their external gills once they reach 4 or 5 inches long, they have 4 toes on the forelimbs and 5 toes on the hind limbs, and their total length may reach 24 inches.