Hellbender dissertation

The Eastern Hellbender (Cryptobranchus alleganiensis alleganiensis)

Cryptobranchus alleganiensis alleganiensis is the major North American

salamander, ranging in length from 30. 5 to 74 cm (Niering 1985). Eastern

Hellbenders are people of the order of tailed amphibians, Caudata and the

friends and family, Cryptobranchidae. Along with C. a. bishopi, the Ozark Hellbender, it really is

one of the two subspecies of hellbenders, also called the Allegheny alligator

or devil-dog. C. a. alleganiensis is perennially aquatic, preferring clear

fast-moving rivers or perhaps large fields with rocky bottoms. The majority are found in water

12 to 46 cm deep and tend to avoid areas with thick tiers of silt (Hillis and

Bellis 1971). It amounts from the Susquehanna River as well as tributaries in New

York and Pa to the Kansas River as well as tributaries such as

Allegheny, that gives it their species brand, westward to the Mississippi Riv

and southward to Missouri, Arkansas, and Georgia. It includes also been documented in

Grand rapids (Bishop 1943). C. a. alleganiensis has a dorsoventrally flattened body and

a laterally flattened end. The butt is the main means of locomotion, nevertheless the

hellbender could also crawl when seeking haven (Hillis and Bellis 1971). C. a.

alleganiensis is usually dark gray or olive-brown with a mottled or noticed pattern on

its hinten surface. The ventral surface is a brighter shade with few markings (Niering

1985). The male and female are similar in look, but the male is broader

and bulkier than a feminine of the same duration. Eyelids will be absent. They have five

toes and fingers on it is hind feet and four around the fore feet, most of which usually develop during

the larval stage (Bishop 1943). C. a. alleganiensis is night time, spending their

days hiding under rocks with only the tip of its broad head revealed. It shows

diurnal behavior only during its matching season which usually occurs at the end of summer or perhaps

early show up depending on geographic location. (Hillis and Bellis 1971). C. a.

alleganiensis practices exterior fertilization. You will dig a

saucer-shaped nest-like cavity beneath a huge, flat mountain or submerged log. The

female lies 200-500 yellow eggs extended range strings. You assumes a mating

position above or behind the feminine and defense tools the ovum. The male will

remain in the spot to guard the nest (Niering 1985). Evidence has shown the

male will eat a few of these eggs and for that reason may remain more to protect his meals

supply than from a sense of parental responsibility (Hillis and Bellis 1971).

The larvae will latch two to three several weeks later. The larva will be approximately 31

mm extended and given birth to with gills which they will lose when they are 100-130 mm lengthy

at about 18 months, leaving just a single couple of gill slits (Bishop 1943). The

hellbenders principle food source is apparently crayfish, this is certainly most likely

for convenience seeing that crayfish hide in identical locations while the hellbender. The

associated with its diet is composed mainly of other aquatic invertebrates such as

molluscs, worms, and insects. They have also been seen to eat little fish and

animal refuse (Hillis and Bellis 1971).

Bibliography

Bishop, S. C. 1943. Guide of Salamanders. pp. 59-63. Comstock Creating

Associates, Ithaca, NY. Hillis, R. E. and Elizabeth. D. Bellis. 1971. Some aspects of the

ecology from the hellbender, Cryptobranchus alleganiensis alleganiensis, in a

Philadelphia stream. Journal of Herpetology, 5: 121-126. Niering, T. A. 85.

National Audubon Society Characteristics Guides: Wetlands. pp. 384-385. Alfred A. Knopf

Incorporation., New York, NEW YORK.

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