Hellbender

The hellbender, Cryptobranchus alleganiensis, is a large aquatic salamander endemic to the eastern and central United States and the only living member of its genus, most closely related to the giant salamanders of Japan and China. It is the largest salamander in North America and the world's fourth-largest aquatic salamander, with adults measuring 24 to 40 centimeters from snout to vent and up to 74 centimeters in total length, weighing 1.5 to 2.5 kilograms. Hellbenders live in clear, clean, shallow, fast-flowing rocky streams, where their flattened bodies help them move through the current, and breathe largely through folds of skin along their sides rather than relying on lungs or gills. Their range extends from southern New York to northern Georgia, west through Ohio, Kentucky, Missouri and adjoining states; the species is listed as Vulnerable by the IUCN, with nearly 80 percent of populations declining or disappearing due to habitat loss, deforestation along streams, disease and degraded water quality.