Hellbender: a two-minute wildlife lesson

Newts and Salamanders · day 1 of 7

Five facts

1. Hellbender nicknames include snot otter, lasagna lizard, devil dog and Allegheny alligator.
2. Hellbenders rely chiefly on breathing through their skin, using skin folds that run from neck to tail.
3. Hellbenders hardly ever swim. Instead, they grip rocks with the pads on their toes and walk along the stream bed.
4. A male often lures several females into laying in his nest. The record for a single nest is 1,946 eggs.
5. The hellbender is the largest salamander in North America, reaching 30 to 74 cm in total length.

The quiz

1. Which of these is a nickname of the hellbender?

• Mud rabbit
• Swamp panther
• Snot otter (correct)
• Creek fox

One of its names is snot otter.

2. What do hellbenders mainly breathe through?

• Their skin (correct)
• Gills only
• Their mouth
• Their tail tip

They rely chiefly on cutaneous respiration through skin folds.

3. How do hellbenders move along streams?

• Swimming with a rudder tail
• Hopping like frogs
• Floating downstream
• Walking, gripping rocks with toe pads (correct)

They use toe pads to grip rocks and walk streams instead of swimming.

4. What is the most eggs ever counted in one hellbender nest?

• As many as 194
• As many as 1,946 (correct)
• As many as 946
• As many as 19,460

The record for a single nest is 1,946 eggs.

5. What is the hellbender's claim among North American salamanders?

• It is the smallest
• It is the fastest
• It is the largest (correct)
• It is the rarest

No salamander in North America is bigger: it reaches 30 to 74 cm long.

More about the Hellbender

Same week

All lessons

Nature documentaries