Amphibian Species of the World 5.6, an Online Reference

Salamandra alleganiensis Daudin, 1803 (An. XI), Hist. Nat. Gen. Part. Rept., 8: 231. Type(s): Originally in MNHNP although not reported by recent authors and likely lost. Type locality: "les monts Alléganis, en Virginie", USA; restricted to "vicinity of Davenport's Plantation", North Toe River, 1 mile south of the mouth of the Bushy Creek and 4 miles east-northeast of the Spruce Pine Creek, Mitchell County, North Carolina, USA, by Harper, 1940, Am. Midl. Nat., 23: 721. See Dundee, 1971, Cat. Am. Amph. Rept., 101: 3, for discussion of the type locality.

Salamandra horrida Barton, 1808, Some Account of Siren lacertina: 8. Type(s): Not stated or known to exist. Type locality: "in the great lakes of our country, in the waters of the Ohio, and Susquehanna [rivers], and other parts of the United States", USA; restricted to the "Muskingum River, Ohio", USA, by Schmidt, 1953, Check List N. Am. Amph. Rept., Ed. 6: 11. Synonymy by Harlan, 1827, J. Acad. Nat. Sci. Philadelphia, 5: 320.

Salamandra gigantea Barton, 1808, Some Account of Siren lacertina: 8. Substitute name for Salamandra horrida Barton, 1808. Synonymy by Harlan, 1825, Ann. Lyc. Nat. Hist. New York, 1: 271; Harlan, 1827, J. Acad. Nat. Sci. Philadelphia, 5: 320; Harlan, 1835, Med. Phys. Res.: 87.

Salamandra maxima Barton, 1808, Some Account of Siren lacertina: 8. Substitute name for Salamandra horrida Barton, 1808.

Triton alleganiensis — Oppel, 1811, Ordn. Fam. Gatt. Rept.: 81.

Molge gigantea — Merrem, 1820, Tent. Syst. Amph.: 187. Synonymy by Harlan, 1835, Med. Phys. Res.: 87.

Cryptobranchus salamandroides Leuckart, 1821, Isis von Oken, 9: 260. Substitute name for Salamandra gigantea Barton, 1808.

Urotropis mucronata Rafinesque, 1822, Kentucky Gazette, Lexington, N.S.,, 1: 3. Type(s): Not designated or known to exist. Type locality: "the Kentucky river", Kentucky, USA. Synonymy by Brame, 1972, Checklist Living & Fossil Salamand. World (Unpubl. MS): 28.

Protonopsis horrida —Barton In LeConte, 1824, Ann. Lyc. Nat. Hist. New York, 1: 57. Gray, 1850, Cat. Spec. Amph. Coll. Brit. Mus., Batr. Grad.: 53.

Abranchus alleghaniensis — Harlan, 1825, Ann. Lyc. Nat. Hist. New York, 1: 233. Incorrect subsequent spelling of species name.

Menopoma alleghaniensis — Harlan, 1825, Ann. Lyc. Nat. Hist. New York, 1: 271.

Salamandrops giganteus — Wagler, 1830, Nat. Syst. Amph.: 209. Leunis, 1844, Synops. Drei Naturr., Zool., Ed. 1: 148.

Abranchus horrida — Gray, 1831, in Cuvier, Animal Kingdom (Griffith), 9—Appendix: 109.

Eurycea mucronata — Rafinesque, 1832, Atlantic. J. and Friend of Knowledge, Philadelphia, 1: 121.

Amphiuma (Menopoma) gigantea — Van der Hoeven, 1833, Handb. Dierkd., 2: 304. by implication.

Cryptobranchus alleghaniensis — Van der Hoeven, 1838, Tijdschr. Natuurl. Geschied., 4: 384. Cope, 1889, Bull. U.S. Natl. Mus., 34: 38.

Menopoma gigantea — Tschudi, 1838, Classif. Batr.: 96.

Cryptobranchus alleghaniensis — Van der Hoeven, 1838, Tijdschr. Natuurl. Geschied., 4: 384.

Menopoma gigantea — Tschudi, 1838, Classif. Batr.: 96.

Menopoma fusca Holbrook, 1842, N. Am. Herpetol., Ed. 2, 5: 99. Types: Specimen figured on pl. 33 of the original publication. Type locality: "waters of French Broad . . . of Ashville, Buncomb county, North Carolina", USA. Synonymy by by Dundee, 1971, Cat. Am. Amph. Rept., 101: 1.

Triton alleghaniensis — Gray, 1850, Cat. Spec. Amph. Coll. Brit. Mus., Batr. Grad.: 54. Error.

Protonopsis fusca — Gray, 1850, Cat. Spec. Amph. Coll. Brit. Mus., Batr. Grad.: 54.

Salamandra alleghaniensis — Gray, 1850, Cat. Spec. Amph. Coll. Brit. Mus., Batr. Grad.: 53. Incorrect subsequent spelling in synonymy of species name.

Salamandra (Menopoma) gigantea — Schlegel, 1858, Handl. Dierkd., 2: 61.

Menopoma fuscum — Yarrow, 1882, Bull. U.S. Natl. Mus., 24: 20.

Cryptobranchus alleganiensis — Garman, 1884, Bull. Essex Inst., 16: 36. by implication; Fowler and Dunn, 1917, Proc. Acad. Nat. Sci. Philadelphia, 69: 8.

Cryptobranchus fuscus — Garman, 1884, Bull. Essex Inst., 16: 36. by implication.

Cryptobranchus terassodactylos Wellborn, 1936, Zool. Anz., 114: 63-64. Holotype: ZMB 9639, according to Bauer, Good, and Günther, 1993, Mitt. Zool. Mus. Berlin, 69: 290. Type locality: "Nordamerika". Restricted to "Allegheny Mountain in Virginia", USA by Schmidt, 1953, Check List N. Am. Amph. Rept., Ed. 6: 11. Synonymy by Grobman, 1943, Occas. Pap. Mus. Zool. Univ. Michigan, 470: 5.

Cryptobranchus bishopi Grobman, 1943, Occas. Pap. Mus. Zool. Univ. Michigan, 470: 6. Holotype: UMMZ 68930, by original designation. Type locality: "Current River at Big Spring Park, Carter County, Missouri", USA. Synonymy by Schmidt, 1953, Check List N. Am. Amph. Rept., Ed. 6: 12.

Cryptobranchus alleganiensis — Bishop, 1943, Handb. Salamanders: 59.

Cryptobranchus alleganiensis alleganiensis — Schmidt, 1953, Check List N. Am. Amph. Rept., Ed. 6: 11.

Cryptobranchus alleganiensis bishopi — Schmidt, 1953, Check List N. Am. Amph. Rept., Ed. 6: 12. Dundee and Dundee, 1965, Copeia, 1965: 169-170.

Cryptobranchus bishopi — Collins, 1991, Herpetol. Rev., 22: 43.

English Names

Allegany Hell-bender (Menopoma alleghaniensis: De Kay, 1842, Zool. New York, 1: 89).

Large Hellbender (Abranchus horrida: Gray, 1831, in Cuvier, Animal Kingdom (Griffith), 9—Appendix: 108).

Ground-puppy (Harlan, 1825, Ann. Lyc. Nat. Hist. New York, 1: 271 [as Menopoma alleghaniensis; Wood, 1863, Illust. Nat. Hist., 3: 185 [as Protonopsis horridus]).

Menopome (Protonopsis horrida: Wood, 1863, Illust. Nat. Hist., 3: 185).

Tweeg (Protonopsis horrida: Wood, 1863, Illust. Nat. Hist., 3: 185).

Mud Devil (Protonopsis horrida: Wood, 1863, Illust. Nat. Hist., 3: 185).

Tennessee Hellbender (Menopoma fuscum [no longer recognized]: Yarrow, 1882, Bull. U.S. Natl. Mus., 24: 20).

Brown Hellbender (Cryptobranchus fuscus [no longer recognized]; Rhoads, 1895, Proc. Acad. Nat. Sci. Philadelphia, 47: 406).

Giant Salamander (Cryptobranchus alleganiensis: Bishop, 1943, Handb. Salamanders: 59).

Hellbender (Cryptobranchus alleganiensis: Harlan, 1825, Ann. Lyc. Nat. Hist. New York, 1: 271; Cuvier, 1831, Animal Kingdom (M'Murtrie), 2: 88; Jordan, 1878, Man. Vert. North. U.S., Ed. 2: 196; Yarrow, 1882, Bull. U.S. Natl. Mus., 24: 20; Davis and Rice, 1883, Bull. Chicago Acad. Sci., 1: 26; Hay, 1892, Annu. Rep. Dept. Geol. Nat. Res. Indiana for 1891: 423; Rhoads, 1895, Proc. Acad. Nat. Sci. Philadelphia, 47: 403; Brimley, 1907, J. Elisha Mitchell Sci. Soc., 23: 151; Bishop, 1943, Handb. Salamanders: 59; Schmidt, 1953, Check List N. Am. Amph. Rept., Ed. 6: 11; Conant, Cagle, Goin, Lowe, Neill, Netting, Schmidt, Shaw, Stebbins, and Bogert, 1956, Copeia, 1956: 174; Collins, Huheey, Knight, and Smith, 1978, Herpetol. Circ., 7: 5; Frank and Ramus, 1995, Compl. Guide Scient. Common Names Amph. Rept. World: 28; Collins, 1997, Herpetol. Circ., 25: 6; Crother, Boundy, Campbell, de Queiroz, Frost, Highton, Iverson, Meylan, Reeder, Seidel, Sites, Taggart, Tilley, and Wake, 2001 "2000", Herpetol. Circ., 29: 20; Tilley, Highton, and Wake, 2008, in Crother (ed.), Herpetol. Circ., 37: 15; Collins and Taggart, 2009, Standard Common Curr. Sci. Names N. Am. Amph. Turtles Rept. Crocodil., ed. 6: 10; Tilley, Highton, and Wake, 2012, in Crother (ed.), Herpetol. Circ., 39: 25).

Alleghany Salamander (Cryptobranchus alleganiensis: Hay, 1892, Annu. Rep. Dept. Geol. Nat. Res. Indiana for 1891: 423).

Hellbender (Cryptobranchus alleganiensis alleganiensis: Schmidt, 1953, Check List N. Am. Amph. Rept., Ed. 6: 11; Conant, Cagle, Goin, Lowe, Neill, Netting, Schmidt, Shaw, Stebbins, and Bogert, 1956, Copeia, 1956: 174; Conant, 1975, Field Guide Rept. Amph. E. Cent. N. Am., Ed. 2: 240),

Eastern Hellbender (Cryptobranchus alleganiensis alleganiensis: Collins, Huheey, Knight, and Smith, 1978, Herpetol. Circ., 7: 5; Frank and Ramus, 1995, Compl. Guide Scient. Common Names Amph. Rept. World: 28; Crother, Boundy, Campbell, de Queiroz, Frost, Highton, Iverson, Meylan, Reeder, Seidel, Sites, Taggart, Tilley, and Wake, 2001 "2000", Herpetol. Circ., 29: 20; Tilley, Highton, and Wake, 2008, in Crother (ed.), Herpetol. Circ., 37: 15; Collins and Taggart, 2009, Standard Common Curr. Sci. Names N. Am. Amph. Turtles Rept. Crocodil., ed. 6: 10; Tilley, Highton, and Wake, 2012, in Crother (ed.), Herpetol. Circ., 39: 25).

Ozark Hellbender (Cryptobranchus alleganiensis bishopi: Bishop, 1943, Handb. Salamanders: 63; Schmidt, 1953, Check List N. Am. Amph. Rept., Ed. 6: 11; Conant, Cagle, Goin, Lowe, Neill, Netting, Schmidt, Shaw, Stebbins, and Bogert, 1956, Copeia, 1956: 174; Conant, 1975, Field Guide Rept. Amph. E. Cent. N. Am., Ed. 2: 241; Collins, Huheey, Knight, and Smith, 1978, Herpetol. Circ., 7: 5; Frank and Ramus, 1995, Compl. Guide Scient. Common Names Amph. Rept. World: 28; Crother, Boundy, Campbell, de Queiroz, Frost, Highton, Iverson, Meylan, Reeder, Seidel, Sites, Taggart, Tilley, and Wake, 2001 "2000", Herpetol. Circ., 29: 20; Tilley, Highton, and Wake, 2008, in Crother (ed.), Herpetol. Circ., 37: 15; Collins and Taggart, 2009, Standard Common Curr. Sci. Names N. Am. Amph. Turtles Rept. Crocodil., ed. 6: 10; Tilley, Highton, and Wake, 2012, in Crother (ed.), Herpetol. Circ., 39: 25).

Distribution

Central and western New York south to northern Maryland and southwestn through Pennsylvania southern Ohio and western Virginia to westernmost South Carolina, northern Alabma, northeastern Mississippi, Tennessee, and Ohio River drainage of southeastern Illinois, southern Indiana; isolated population in the Ozarks of Missouri and adjacent northernmost Arkansas, USA.

Comment

See accounts by Dundee, 1971, Cat. Am. Amph. Rept., 101: 1-4; Petranka, 1998, Salamand. U.S. Canada: 140; and Nickerson and Mays, 1972, Publ. Biol. Geol. Milwaukee Public Mus., 1: 1-106.

External Links

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• For additional sources of information from other sites search Google
• For images search Arkive, CalPhoto Images and Google Images
• To search the NIH genetic sequence database, see GenBank
• For information aggregation from other sites and some original accounts see AmphibiaWeb report
• For further information on conservation status and distribution see the IUCN Redlist
• For related information on conservation and images as well as observation see iNaturalist;
• for a quick link to their maps see iNaturalist KML
• For access to informatoin on fossils see Lisanfos