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Hellbender

Cryptobranchus alleganiensis · Salamanders and newts · Amphibians

Hellbender (Cryptobranchus alleganiensis): Largest aquatic salamander in North America, 295-686 mm and 405-1010 g. Flat body with loose skin folds, very flat broad head with a short snout, no eyelids, small stubby limbs and webbed toes (four front, five hind); muscular tail. This profile does not establish whether taking it is legal anywhere.

Check rules for a place and date

Certified rules currently represented in Hunt: coverage in development. This is coverage, not a legal answer.

Scientific name
Cryptobranchus alleganiensis
Family
Cryptobranchidae
In North America
Native
Range
Eastern and central US: NatureServe lists New York, Pennsylvania, Maryland, Ohio, Indiana, Illinois, Missouri, Arkansas, Kentucky, West Virginia, Virginia, North Carolina, Tennessee, Georgia, Alabama and Mississippi; not recorded for Canada.
Biology

How to identify it

Largest aquatic salamander in North America, 295-686 mm and 405-1010 g. [1][2]

Flat body with loose skin folds, very flat broad head with a short snout, no eyelids, small stubby limbs and webbed toes (four front, five hind); muscular tail. [1][2]

Deep brown or black, occasionally with dark orange spots above or below; belly lighter; sexes look alike; rare albino and red variants. [1][2]

Larvae are 25-33 mm and limbless at hatching and have pale gill slits, lost at maturity. [1][2]

Field knowledge

Where it lives

Clear, rocky, fast-flowing creeks and rivers with large shelter rocks and steady oxygen and flow, usually where water stays below about 20 C; avoids wide, slow, muddy water. [1][2]

Field knowledge

How it behaves

Nocturnal and solitary; hides by day under large flat rocks at the stream bottom and hunts from dusk to dawn, with territory centred on the shelter rock (average about 113 m2) defended against other hellbenders. [1][2]

Eats mainly crayfish, plus fish, tadpoles and insects, using suction feeding; peak nocturnal activity May-June in West Virginia. [1][2]

Breeds late summer to fall; males guard eggs under large rocks or logs. [1][2]

Regulatory handoff

Limited legal take

Legal take of this species exists only under narrow conditions — a quota, a draw, a permit, a small area, or animals released or held on private land — set by the authorities below. Nowhere else is a legal opportunity implied, and Hunt shows one only where a certified rule establishes it.

Conservation and protection

  • ENDANGERED — Eastern Hellbender (Cryptobranchus alleganiensis alleganiensis), Missouri DPS: listed as endangered under the Endangered Species Act since 2021-04-07. · ECOS species profile: Eastern Hellbender
  • ENDANGERED — Ozark Hellbender (Cryptobranchus alleganiensis bishopi): listed as endangered under the Endangered Species Act since 2011-11-07. · ECOS species profile: Ozark Hellbender

Where legal take is listed

Being listed is not an open season. Seasons, zones, licences, methods and limits decide whether this animal may be taken on a given day and place — check Hunt or the authority before you go. Listings read 2026-09-30.

Geospatial intelligence

Where it is found

Eastern and central US: NatureServe lists New York, Pennsylvania, Maryland, Ohio, Indiana, Illinois, Missouri, Arkansas, Kentucky, West Virginia, Virginia, North Carolina, Tennessee, Georgia, Alabama and Mississippi; not recorded for Canada.

Biology

Sources

Every claim above is attributed to one of these published sources.

  1. NatureServe · reviewed 2026-09-30

    NatureServe

  2. Animal Diversity Web, University of Michigan Museum of Zoology · reviewed 2026-09-30

    Animal Diversity Web, University of Michigan Museum of Zoology