Hellbender

Hellbender
ヘルベンダー
Character Data
AKA		Hellbender Salamander, Snot Otter, mud cat, devil dog, grampus, Allegheny alligator, ground puppy
Romaji		Herubendā
Debut		Kemono Friends (2015 Game)
Animal Data
Scientific Name		Cryptobranchus alleganiensis
Distribution		Eastern North America
Diet		Carnivore
Avg. Lifespan		?
Read More		Hellbender
Conservation

Hellbender

Nexon Game

Hellbender is a type of Friend that appeared in the original Kemono Friends mobile game.

Appearance

Hellbender wears a brown transparent shirt over blue bikini, and loose socks-like warmers on her legs. Her hair is short and curled inwards, and is brown with only the ends being a lighter color.

Series Appearances

Appearances In Kemono Friends Media

Media		Role
2015	Nexon Game	↪ Minor character, playable character

In Real Life

A skulking hellbender.

Despite their terrifying name, hellbenders are in fact a type of gentle, fully aquatic, giant salamanders. Being the largest salamander in the American continent, they can grow to an average length of 15-16 inches (38-41 cm). The longest hellbender recorded was 29 inches long. They have a brown, blotchy and flat body with four stumpy legs, tiny eyes and a long tail. The amphibian can be found in rocky, cool, clear streams and rivers in 15 states of the US, from New York to Mississippi.

Hellbenders have lungs but their main means of getting oxygen is underwater via pores on its skin, which is folded to maximise surface area with the water. Hellbenders are also capable of secreting mucus through their skin when threatened. This mucus is not poisonous, but does taste bitter and makes it a lot harder to get a grip on its body.

Hellbenders are nocturnal hunters. Their main diet is crayfish, but they are also known to eat small fish, tadpoles, water snakes, toads, and even other hellbenders. After they're done hunting, they'll return to their home rock before morning comes. Hellbenders rarely move home, and can keep the same home rock for several years on end. The light sensors that span the entire body of the hellbender help tell if it is daytime or night.

Their breeding season is Autumn, when the male salamander dig out a nest under a large rock and wait for a female to deposit eggs within it. Afterward, the male will keep guard of the nest until the eggs hatch 8 weeks later. Like other amphibians, Hellbenders undergo metamorphosis that they lose their gills about 2 years old.

The salamanders rely heavily on clean water. Degradation of water quality due to activities like dam construction and sand mining has contributed to their decline over the past few decades. Diseases, particularly amphibian chytrid fungus, has also cause the declining population.

Trivia

• Archaeologists have discovered a 160 million year old fossil of a hellbender, proving they've been around since at least the Mesozoic Era.
• Hellbenders have a high sense of smell, able to detect a drop of earthworm scent within a 40 gallon tank.
• Despite the ability to swim, they often walk along stream and river beds.
• Origin of its name is unclear. One theory claims the hellbender was named by settlers who thought as "like they crawled out of hell and are bent on going back."

References

U.S. Fish & Wildlife Service, 'Hellbenders: Fantastic beasts of rivers and streams' https://www.fws.gov/story/hellbenders-fantastic-beasts

Marshall.edu. (2017). What's a Hellbender?. [online] Available at: http://www.marshall.edu/herp/Salamanders/hellbender/hellbenderdesc.htm [Accessed 22 Nov. 2017].

Bates, M. (2017). The Creature Feature: 10 Fun Facts About Hellbenders. [online] WIRED. Available at: https://www.wired.com/2015/02/creature-feature-10-fun-facts-hellbenders/ [Accessed 22 Nov. 2017].

Nature.org. (2017). Hellbender Salamander Facts The Nature Conservancy. [online] Available at: https://www.nature.org/newsfeatures/specialfeatures/animals/amphibians/hellbender-salamander-facts.xml [Accessed 22 Nov. 2017].

Clapman, L. and Clapman, L. (2017). 12 Facts About Hellbender Salamanders. [online] PBS NewsHour. Available at: https://www.pbs.org/newshour/science/12-facts-about-hellbender-salamanders [Accessed 22 Nov. 2017].