A hellbender (Image: Joe Greathouse)
IT LOOKS like it has crawled out of a stinking primeval swamp, or as if it’s bound for some unspeakable gothic underworld. But the hellbender (not to be confused with the rock band, computer game or jeep) is no monster: it’s one of the world’s largest aquatic salamanders, hiding under rocks in fast-flowing, winding streams in remote parts of the US. When it does venture out, though, Cryptobranchus alleganiensis has a very mixed relationship with people, winning lots of fans and enemies.
So what exactly is the fascination? Hellbenders grow up to 75 centimetres long…
