hellbender
1
9.9
- noun
- /ˈhɛlˌbɛndər/
- Specialized
:
hellbender
- The hellbender is a large aquatic salamander found in eastern North America.
Examples
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The hellbenders spent time in a zoo in Texas and then were reared at Purdue until they reached 4 years old—the point at which they are no longer easy prey for predators.
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As part of the effort to increase Indiana hellbender populations, Purdue scientists are relocating the amphibians to areas that have seen decline.
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Once informed, however, those same people showed interest in helping hellbender populations.
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But the eastern hellbender is endangered in five states and protected or of special concern in many others.
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The group obtained 18 juvenile hellbenders that were originally collected in West Virginia.
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The eastern hellbender is currently found across Appalachia and parts of the Midwest, as well as small portions of a few southern states.
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That information will help build understanding about habitats that are suitable for hellbenders, their movement in rivers, and track their survival.
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The next step is to survey other locations throughout the state to evaluate their suitability for future hellbender reintroductions.
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WEST LAFAYETTE, Ind. -- Purdue University scientists are part of a nationwide effort to save a declining species of an amphibian called the hellbender, with hopes of rallying people to do the same.
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Nathan Mullendore, a research associate and outreach coordinator for the project, said fewer than half the people surveyed around hellbender habitats had ever heard of the amphibian, and only half of those polled had claimed to have ever seen one.
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Synonyms
A large salamander that lives in rivers and streams in eastern North America
Surface Forms
Etymology
The word hellbender comes from an old American folk name that joins hell ('a place of fire and danger') and bender (from 'bend', 'to turn'). People used that vivid image—a devil-like, twisted creature—to name the big, flat, wrinkled river salamander we call a hellbender today.