WHEN YOU
LOOK
Western Bluebird
The Hellbender
An Enigmatic Existence
The hellbender, scientifically known as cryptobranchus alleganiensis, is the largest living salamander within the United States, growing up to 29 inches long. The animal has a flat body and head with brown coloration, beady black eyes, and a slimy body. There are two separate subspecies, the Ozark Hellbender and the Eastern Hellbender. They reside under flat rocks in fast-flowing, cold, and clean water in the Eastern U.S., specifically from New York in the northeast, to Missouri in the west and Alabama in the south. The hellbender has existed on earth for more than 160 million years according to the fossil record.
A hellbender found in the wild
The hellbender in the Orma J. Smith Museum of Natural History
When you look at this hellbender, you see the unknown.
The hellbender had a confused mythical interpretation in the past, has an unclear and cloudy current understanding by society today, and has an uncertain future existence. This salamander embodies both mystery and uncertainty. In ancient times, salamanders were falsely believed to live safely within fires because their blood protected them from the heat. Currently, the reason for the depleting population and increasing average age of the hellbender is unknown to researchers. They predict climate change, deforestation, and sedimentation of streams to be the main contributors, but they are not sure how much influence each one has on the decreasing trend. At the root of each of these predicted causes is human behavior. For this reason and because of human ignorance, the future existence of the hellbender is uncertain. Conservation groups are attempting to keep the population around by introducing captive bred hellbenders into the wild, however this serves only as a temporary fix to a longterm problem.
The specific hellbender in the Orma J. Smith Museum of Natural History kept its secrets hidden from the outside world. The top of its jar was stuck on and would not come off. When searching for answers about the specimen's unique features, I ran into more and more mystery. Its fluid's unusual green coloring was unknown. Its curator was unknown. Its specific subspecies was unknown. The specimen had not even been catalogued by the museum. The mystique surrounding the hellbender grew as I came to know the creature.
The hellbender has not received enough attention from researchers, causing a gap in knowledge about their exact population trends. As a result, the subspecies Eastern Hellbender has been left off the Endangered Species List. However, its declining numbers are clear, and if the hellbender disappears, our society will be at a huge loss because the unusual creature reflects the health of the environment it lives in. So, if we as humans do not clean our act up, the environment, and hellbenders along with it, will be destroyed. Hopefully in the near future, the hellbender will not represent the unknown, but instead, the understood.
Author posed with hellbender specimen in Orma J. Smith Museum of Natural History
Author: Drew Wyman
For More Information:
Museum Director: Bill Clark
Bclark@collegeofidaho.edu
(208) 459-5507
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Myself: Drew Wyman