Youtor
Hellbenders Rock
>> YOUR LINK HERE: ___ http://youtube.com/watch?v=d9uxJZwlwNs
We love hellbenders. But they're not the cuddliest of species, with their slimy bodies that look like the 2-foot-long lovechild of phlegm and a rock. Actually these critters -- also called (by people not on the Center's staff) devil dogs and snot otters -- are pretty much a PR nightmare for anyone trying to fight off their extinction due to water pollution and dams. The rallying cry Save the Snot Otter doesn't always go over well. • Happily for the hellbender, a band from St. Louis is now doing this salamander justice through song. They may yet make a rock 'n' roll legend out of North America's largest amphibian. • We think there are few things more rockin' than raising a little hellbender. • NATURAL HISTORY • HELLBENDER } Cryptobranchus alleganiensis • FAMILY: Cryptobranchidae • DESCRIPTION: Hellbenders are considered to be living fossils because they have changed so little over time. They are large, stout-bodied, fully-aquatic salamanders that grow to be two feet long with brown, grey or black skin with lighter markings. Hellbenders have flattened bodies and heads that allow them to cling to the river bottom, as well as a rough pad on their toes for traction on slick rocks. They have paddle-like tails for swimming, and numerous folds of fleshy skin for oxygen absorption. Their eyes are small, without lids, and their skin secretes toxic slime to ward off predators. • HABITAT: This salamander occurs in rocky, clear creeks and rivers, usually where there are large shelter rocks. It generally avoids water warmer than 68 degrees Fahrenheit. Males prepare nests and attend eggs beneath large, flat rocks or submerged logs. • RANGE: This species is found in Alabama, Arkansas, Georgia, Indiana, Kentucky, Maryland, Missouri, Mississippi, North Carolina, New York, Ohio, Pennsylvania, South Carolina, Tennessee, Virginia and West Virginia. The Ozark subspecies is found only in southern Missouri and northern Arkansas. • MIGRATION: The hellbender does not migrate. • BREEDING: Hellbender breeding is aquatic. Males may move short distances within their home ranges to brooding sites. The breeding season is variable but occurs mainly in September and October; a male prepares a nest by moving gravel to create a saucer-shaped depression, then depositing 200-400 eggs in the depression. The male fertilizes the eggs and guards the nests until the young are about three weeks old. • LIFE CYCLE: Newly hatched larvae are approximately 1.2 inches long. Development is rapid, and hatchlings double their size in the first year. Larvae normally lose their external gills in the second summer after hatching. Hellbenders reach sexual maturity at five to six years and may live as long as 30 years. • FEEDING: Crayfish are the most important food items for hellbenders, but the salamanders' diet also includes fish, insects, earthworms, snails, tadpoles, fish eggs, other hellbenders and other hellbenders' eggs. • THREATS: This species is mainly threatened by poor water quality, unsustainable collection for the pet trade and scientific purposes, persecution by anglers, disease caused by chytrid fungus, stocking of predatory fish and loss of genetic diversity. • POPULATION TREND: The hellbender is declining throughout its range. The Ozark hellbender in southern Missouri and northern Arkansas is in especially alarming decline. • Check out the timeline of the Center's efforts to protect hellbenders here: https://www.biologicaldiversity.org/s... • About us: • • The Center for Biological Diversity is a 501c3 nonprofit headquartered in Tucson, Arizona. At the Center, we believe that the welfare of human beings is deeply linked to nature — to the existence in our world of a vast diversity of wild animals and plants. Because diversity has intrinsic value, and because its loss impoverishes society, we work to secure a future for all species, great and small, hovering on the brink of extinction. We do so through science, law and creative media, with a focus on protecting the lands, waters and climate that species need to survive. • • We want those who come after us to inherit a world where the wild is still alive. • • Where to find us: • • WEBSITE: https://www.biologicaldiversity.org/ • TWITTER: / centerforbiodiv • FACEBOOK: / centerforbiodiv • INSTAGRAM: / centerforbiodiv • TIKTOK: / centerforbiodiv
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